The Memory of Elephants
Savanna Nights
I remember tropical rain
thundering in,
tangles of mesh and lace and
netting
and me and you
in it together,
those thick semi-opaque threads
protecting us
from on-lookers
and the insatiable appetites
of mosquitos
.
dusk brought
with it the most
undisciplined
giraffes
caravanning
across open savanna
dashing in coats of pumpkin spice and spilt coffee
with circles of cream
nibbling at the splendid table the earth
laid at their feet,
the wild ones never deigning to bow
their sculpted necks
to anyone
.
nightfall awoke
pack animals,
wolves and their naughty spirit animals,
who came alive with dusty hunger
skulking,
two by two, to our eyes
painted specks, mere silhouettes, vast
against
lamp black landscapes
we had yet to investigate
let alone master,
but how we yearned
to drink in
the scattering of star light splintering its
dying amber fire
snuffed out beneath
caressing blankets
of purples and oranges and molten reds
surrendering into blue-black twilight
.
a million fragmented days, weeks, years
have passed away
in the waning of time
and yet
my elephant’s curse
remains a mixed blessing:
long memory
of you
keeps
pavilion over my deserted aspirations
giving me
you
and me and you
when we were
obnoxious and
daring
and young enough
to live to chase the dream
of elephants
wild as herds
free as spirits
roaming their ancestral plains
magnificent as the last great innocents
perfects as a triumph of endless mountains
we hoped never to know
like the backs of our hands
***
Copyright © 03/25/2024 by Christy Munson. All rights reserved.
Comments (2)
"my elephant’s curse remains a mixed blessing" This line was sooooo relatable! Loved your poem!
Christy, you are an amazing poet. Change a single word in this poem and it would be diminished! I especially loved the lines about the giraffes: dashing in coats of pumpkin spice and spilt coffee with circles of cream nibbling at the splendid table the earth laid at their feet Wonderful!