The Baby Elephant
By Kendall Milton
I came across an elephant
I met her in my dreams
It was during one of those dark nights
Where I was bursting at the seams
The dawn of one of my hardest hours
I felt utterly alone
I asked the elephant to hold me
So I could finally feel at home
I lamented as she held me
Why my journey felt so hard
For others things came faster
And their skin appeared less scarred
Then the elephant told me
About a dog she knew
To whom treats and tricks came easily
Whose life seemed light and playful too
One day the dog told the elephant she was pregnant
And the elephant said, “I am as well
As for what our babies will become?
Only time will tell.”
A flash of three months later
The puppy dog came bounding back
And bounding alongside her
She had but an entire puppy pack
She questioned, “I popped out 12 babies.
But yet you say you’re pregnant too.
You seem to have so much faith.
And yet I’m much further along than you.”
The elephant recoiled
The dogs words prickled her thick skin
And yet, the elephant knew in her heart of hearts
An elephant baby rumbled within
And once again the dog returned
Three months later and she said,
“I’ve 24 babies and yet you’ve had none.
Maybe your baby dream is dead?”
The elephant wondered if she was crazy
She wanted to run and hide
And yet despite the dog’s loud doubt
The elephant knew what she felt inside
This continued several more times
But the elephant’s confidence grew
The dog would laugh and shake her head
But the elephant knew what she knew
And so 22 months later
The elephant’s baby finally came
And when the sweet creature touched the ground
The world was never quite the same
The elephant beamed proudly
As her calf walked the earth with grace
While 84 puppies licked their buttholes
And then their mother’s face
The elephant smiled, “Don’t get me wrong.
The world needs puppies to make us laugh.
But nothing really can compare
To the beauty of one little elephant calf.”
“And so my love,” she told me,
“Go on and wipe your tears.
But first let them wash over you.
And cleanse you of your fears.
Washing over every part of your thick, scarred skin.
Until all that is left inside you,
Is your baby elephant within.”
October 23, 2020
