wild things

she wanted to watch him dance
like the elephants
his teeth were capped very white
as he swayed back and forth

she did not dress to please him
so wild and unkempt
her belly too soft
her body too old

she saw he still loved her

this earth this wounded earth
reeled again from another blow

this earth watched its heart ache
each horn ripped from itself

this earth

she wanted to stretch
across African
hills now enclosed

this earth no longer
this aching
this aching old lover's heart

a baby elephant watched
her mother
her father
the wounded
the blood
the tusk

just as the last tree falls





(Inspired by Deena Metzger)