elephants are like anxiety

i like elephants, i do.

i feel honored that they have found "home" within me

i find comfort in their presence
the weight of my little herd being just enough to keep me on the ground

i get assured of the good when i feel them frolicking in the fields of my body, so happy and free and light

sometimes, things get difficult
and without warning
i can feel my little herd, running, scared, their eyes wide open and grey and tense.

i get tense. i can feel my little herd becoming a massive stampede
it's almost as if there's nothing to do to help them

feeling them running so desperately
is heavy and loud like thunder

than it gets quiet
a piercing, deafening quiet

the herd has stopped
and i am tired

so tired
that i don't realize that a part of my herd is gone
captured by the poachers of my mind
and another battle is lost

he's taken to the dark chambers of my ribcage
there he is trapped
bound by ropes

he thrashes and struggles against the odd strength of the poacher

soon the ropes become chains
and he's pinned to the cold concrete floor

and he can't breathe
and i can't breathe

we are both stuck in a familiar place
between
i need to get out
and, i can't fight this anymore

there's a few of my elephants in here
i've lost a few battles

but you should see my little herd
see them frolic in the fields of my body
so happy and free and light

because i've won many, many battles
and my little herd is strong
and the poachers of my mind
are getting few and weak