Mary The Elephant Poem by Rachel Wiley

Mary the elephant was hanged by
an industrial crane for the murder of
her inexperienced trainer while she was
being stripped of her ivory
It was found that she'd had two abscessed teeth on the
side of her face where she was struck
with the bull hook
The circus fat lady eulogizes Mary the elephant
They've gone and made you a ghastly ornament of
uncontrol Mary your pain overturning
a whole city atop the man who dared
treats you like some dumb creature your
largesse both your attraction and your
charge isn't it something the way these
small sold people tossed their
hard-earned nickels at our feet to
marvel at our vastness to be in the
presence of our dangerous to mock their
fear in our content to provoke our grace
mass into motion so they can crown
themselves then movers of mountains
worshipping and damning us in one breath
for the wonders that we are if you
cannot be small at least make it easy to
handle you be massive but my god be
docile your anger our anger it reminds
them of all the ways that we can undo
them with half the efforts how dare you
be so beastly
and strike back when they only meant to
beat you grateful and look they've gone
all drunk on bad justice and hauled you
into the sky a thundercloud named
themselves the gods of your demise
they've robbed your gravestone faced
with hacksaws for all the trouble of
your unrest it took an entire mob and a
railroad crane to give them their pound
of flesh and still you gave them tons
how quickly they forget
the monumental hearts that drive these
elephantine bodies
Mary, you are survived by all things large and
wild hearted and irreproachable I
survive you Mary Mary I survive you in
every beastly enchantment I can muster