Elephant Poem by Jared Carter

You, who stood there eating spinach
in the garden,
Seemed so noble. When God finished
making you, sin

Was not an option. You were great,
though sensitive,
And kind to others. Tempting fate,
He sought to give

Such things to man, too, but the snake
had other plans.
Now, with your trunk, you reach to shake
extinction's hand.


First published in Branches.

The photograph below shows American president Theodore Roosevelt posing with a large-caliber rifle and a dead elephant.