The Truth About Tigers

occasional musings and free verse poetry, approximately

Elephant Parade

The topic that chose me this morning
was African Elephants.
Unbidden, they came
from depths unknown—
I did not plan to ponder Elephants,
and I certainly didn’t intend to write about them.

Yet here they are,
grand, gray, glorious,
trumpeting and trampling
through my thoughts,
pushing aside other ideas,
and knocking over the carefully arranged furniture—
generally making a mess of the place,
as one might expect of such titans
trapped within
the mind’s limited landscape.

So here I sit,
at the keyboard and computer,
an ethereal door
to the digital wilderness,
open wide,
inviting them to wander
into the vast wilds
whence they came.

Elephant Parade was published in Kindred Characters Literary Magazine (Lark & Owl Booksellers), Issue 2, Winter 2025

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Published by

Nick Allison

Responses

  1. Lia Avatar
    Lia

    “grand, gray, glorious” – love that, and wonderful poem!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Nick Allison Avatar
      Nick Allison

      Thank you, Lia!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Kate Avatar
    Kate

    Your poem brought those “grand, gray, glorious” creatures to life in my mind. Now, they’re wandering around in there, making a mess, and looking for a way out. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Nick Allison Avatar
      Nick Allison

      There’s only one way to get them out of there, Kate. You have to sit down at the door to the digital wilderness and invite them to wander out on a road paved with words about elephants. Otherwise, they’ll completely wreck the place. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Kate Avatar
        Kate

        You’re absolutely right, Nick. I’ve had much smaller mammals wreak havoc until I set them to paper. Crows especially. There’s just something about them, especially in a group. A murder of crows 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛…🫣

        Liked by 1 person

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