Poem: A few thoughts on an elephant
This week’s Poet’s Corner contribution comes from Jules Leigh Koch.
A few thoughts on an elephant
a pregnant elephant
briefly inhabits
one dwindling
waterhole after another
she mostly communicates through her feet
which pick up the earth‘s vibrations
like loudspeakers
she looks across the savannah
with limited vision
unlike the poachers
adjusting the sights of their rifles
for long-range shots
with each generation
her tusks are becoming smaller and smaller
she follows the herd
each step
as laboured as her last
with a gestation period of 22 months
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she will need to remember
which month it is
because we all know
that elephants never forget
Jules Leigh Koch, born in Sydney, was raised and lives in Adelaide. The author of five poetry collections and the recipient of two South Australian literature grants in 2008 and 2011, he was a guest reader at Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2017, and a judge for the biennial John Bray Poetry Award in 2017, 2019 and 2021. He has also worked as a mentor with writers from the Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability Trust.