no one wants to talk about
the little, baby elephant
that wandered into the room
some decades ago
only now, the thing
has grown to full size
and everyone has to move away
from wherever the elephant chooses to go
still, no one mentions it
if you start to do so
you’re quickly told
to hush
it’s as if everyone believes
that discussing the thing
will somehow cause it
to rampage and crush
it’s a bit more than annoying
since it’s beginning to wreck
anything and everything
that’s in the house
lots of nervous smiling
and changing the subject
you’ll hear no mention of the elephant;
we’re all quiet as a mouse
everyone brightens right up
when you share a fun story
talk about a new movie
or tell a funny joke
but when you try to talk about
the elephant (or the weather)
it’s as if you were never there
and you never spoke
you’ll get a lot of
blank stares, shrugs
mostly, a lot of people
turning away
you’d think that since the beast
is destroying their home,
they might have an opinion,
a choice word or two, to say
but you would be wrong
for all is quiet
except for occasional whispers,
so brief
once the whispering stops,
all sigh and go back
to whatever they were doing
with a nervous relief
it’s more than just
a little bit puzzling
it’s far beyond being
just strange or odd
having everyone assure you
that we’re alone in the house
with a wink, a smile
and an anxious nod
this is all doubly,
if not triply or quadruply so…
or even to the power
of twenty-one
the elephant is angry,
bellowing loud, all the time
and people have been crushed;
more than just one
maybe it’s something about
how i was raised
or a skill that i never knew
that i needed before
something as big,
as destructive, imposing
as an elephant… to me…
is impossible to ignore
©2021 Kevin Trent Boswell
From the black book of horrifying, awful, terrible things that will keep you up late at night and drive you to drink too much, Out On The Killing Floor
355 pages, available now on Amazon
8 different titles available
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Elephant photo by David Blackwell
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