Elephants by Natalie

Did you see them, traveling, all night, together as one?

Did you spot them in the morning, arising when the sun peeped out —

An array of gray,

A cluster of boulders as they trudge

Their footfalls heavy through the grasses;

A thundercloud, a mass of leather, sounding the skies with their sweet cries?

Did you hear their songs, of joy, of pain

A deep mourning anthem — like a song remebering the lost — like a thunderstorm shaking its listeners to their core?

And did you watch them, finally, gathered round their struggling friend —

Each trunk extended, their voices colliding together to heal what broke, never abandoning the distressed?

And did you feel it, in your heart, how you need to be more like them?

And have you finally figured out what compassion is for?

And do you know how you need to change?