Sunshine like powdered gold caresses the mellow afternoon sky

Whispers of a breeze: gentle sultry sigh

Aureate light seeps over the horizon in the West

Africa’s sunset: dancing fire on the crest

The sky bursts open: a star spangled parade

Silence shredding crickets: soften and fade

The warm cloak of night hugs the listening tree

The hoarse cough of a leopard filters through the breeze

Mosquitoes hum: vibrating the night

Elephants bunched protectively: conscious of their plight

Moonbeams probe deep into the night shadows

Liquid murmurs from the Zambezi river: undulating as she flows

The crippled limbs of the baobab groan: hustled by the breeze

The majestic matriarch: rigid with fear and unease

Survival of her herd is the goal

Fold upon fold of wisdom and emotion: a reflection of her soul

Her rich creamy tusks more valuable than gold

A cross, her species have had to bear from times of old

A throaty growl of gunfire: a reverberating pound

This proud old matriarch sprawls…crashing into the ground

Viewing the chaos through world weary eyes

A tormented screech of pain: terrified cries

Sanguine moonbeams a silent witness peering through the trees

Ghosting of night wings haunting the breeze

Fear echoes fear: frantic drum roll beating within

Brushstrokes of violence: tragic and grim

Thousands of miles from where the magnificent matriarch was slain

A finger of golden sunshine sweeps across the windowpane

Lonely in her stance, an intricately carved ivory figurine

Tragedy surrounds her: a melancholy sheen

Statue like expression staring from unseeing eyes

Oblivious of her beginnings…the tormented cries

Born out of something so symbolic of suffering and death

Consumers of Ivory….I hold my breath

Every week I will continue to write..talking

about the sentient elephants and their plight

Always hoping deep within my heart

That sanity will prevail… and stop tearing them apart