Rolling Bones

Driving with the elephant monitor

we came upon a pile of bones,

bleached and brittled by the sun.

A big bull elephant – he told me,

one that came down hard

with a dart and never stood up.

The giant cranium of the beast

lay in the grass away from the

skeleton. “The elephants rolled it.”

He said with sadness, (for he had been

there when the great Bull fell).

“Over time they’ll scatter the bones

far and wide across the park.”

Perhaps in an attempt to spread the

ghost across the ancient paths that

he navigated for decades.

Or maybe a chance to walk

with the old man a little longer,

along the trails that once were covered

under his big feet.

(Written after visiting Tembe Elephant Park in 2016).

#blogpost #wildlife #poems