A Herd Of Elephants Poem by Prayag Saikia

I am running along a precipice
Pursued by a herd of elephants
The protective time-gap remains intact
Even after repeated stumbling falls
Only apprehension is biting at the
Destiny of time
In reality
Neither the
Bull elephants
Nor the
Cow elephants
Could graze my skin

Till today
The apprehension of youth
The herd of oncoming charging elephants
Appear in my dream

Actually
A dream is a dream
A herd of oncoming charging elephants
In the subconscious mind
Reality is reality
A group of oncoming charging people
In real life
When a herd of elephants are entrapped by the 'Fandi'
A child questions
Whether man is superior
Or
Is it the animals

(Translated from Original Assamese by Bibekananda Choudhury)