TOPIARY Poem by Teji Grover

In the park is a hollow wire elephant. There are just
four leaves on its body going up through its foot. This is the
only image that keeps following me around like my unborn
children. These four leaves continue to tremble in whatever
I say and do. Aside from this, there is this ultra-blue sky
stripped down to wires by its hollow body.

This is the only sky that seems sky. Not the rest.
Only those birds which are able to fly between the wires
seem like birds. Not the rest.