Elephant Poem by Manoj Srinivas Gopalakrishna

Forest is my home and it is my birth right to be free
I was captured with the help of my own kith and kin, what an irony
Only to be sold and enslaved for eternity therein
First they try to break me by chaining my legs in solitude
I gave in as soon as the chains tore into my skin
I am abused I am poked I am beaten I am kicked
Till I abide to all they say and bow down in defeat
Gentle Giant am rightfully called as I don't fight back every time I am made to fall
They sit on me and force me to carry heavy baggage in the name of God
Until my backbone is sore and is no more
Man's superstition and Ignorance has taken a heavy toll on me
For a token of money I am forced to bless their kind
What kind of God am I with my legs chained and my freedom contained
Please let me FREE please let me Free
Will a God beg ever to be let free
There is no end to a Man's greed and it supersedes his every whim
I am the largest and powerful of all the land animals
Back home every animal feared and respected me
Yet here I am down on my knees begging and pleading
For the freedom that is rightfully mine so I can be Me
....Max