The Elephants

I arrived on a hill
There were
trees in the
distance
I couldn’t
see
beyond the
boundary
of the trees
but I knew
I would
have to get past
them
It is
unclear to me
the differences
between
want
and need
I arrived
without having
to get there
I walked
on the path
through the
checkpoint
the gate
where they
checked
our passes
I walked
along a fence
in the back
talking
with someone
She was
older than me
but only
by a few years
She was thinking
about
the problems
of want and need
Questions
she asked me
to reflect
upon
A bright
light
filled in
the space
where she was
standing
Children
held sticks
ran around
We could hear
them yelling in the
background
The screens
faded
up
and out
I was
helping her
think
not with
thoughts of my own
more with hers
We found
a clearing and
turned
toward it
She
reached for
my arm
Her hand
never
made contact
Up ahead
in the distance
a line of trees
blurred
The sound of
children’s voices
muffled
In the fog
I am
whole
with no
boundaries
Under the bright sun
once was
cold
She clicked her
tongue
and turned
It won’t go easy
a voice
we heard say
from outside our
heads
I brought
my left hand
to my
temple to
pause
collect myself
or make sense of
the voices
I heard while
her talking
kept on
proceeded
I may have
said
at one point
and nodded
my head
while
touching
the left temple
with middle
finger
One of the
screens
sank down
On the other
side
of the fence
a swimming pool
empty and covered
in leaves dirt
twigs and bugs
I motioned
for help
The sun was
sinking
just
at the
horizon
She was not
to let me go
It was an
order
from somewhere
some
one
I had to trust
Every
meadow
a blank side
over the passage
from above
the tilted
window
I turned
around
No one
was holding
the mirror
in front of
or behind
my self
A head
around the
center
fell down
the gaping
hole
from where
we had
arrived
was not gone