I

Big and Black and
filthy after
his bath in the sand.

The giant best
free from collar
rid of all command.

His mahout speaks
a foreign tongue
of broken antiques.

Shankar Ravi
my newest friend
one of nature’s freaks.

II

Healthy fodder, all
branches and leaves, won’t
eat at any cost.

Peanuts and
bananas,
devoted to those.

Deep ends of
winter lakes
until his ***** froze.

Crazy giant, son
of the wild, father
to a herd long lost.

III

How and when did
you and I grow
so close, so soon?

Splashing away
simmering days,
beneath the stars
studying the moon.

‘Here have all these
bananas and
peanuts that I
saved for this day!’

Wretched fate that
put you in chains,
plays its part to
take you away.

One final bath
in the sand to
bid us farewell
in our own ways.

I hope you find
a herd in the
wild to make up
for the lost days.