In a few days I will be posting my next diary in the series, "What About the Elephants?"
But as I continue my work and research on these wonderful creatures a true but sad picture arose from my soul...and I am sharing with you.
http://images.dailykos.com/...
An Elephant’s Lament
She lumbers along, in rhythm with the grass waving in the breeze, content and at peace
The little ones toddle underneath her…
They are safe, they are loved and their Aunts surround them, the babies peering up whimpering and giggling.
They sashay through the forests, following the path that only they know. To the water and to the shade! To the dark and cool night where they can rest.
Then they rise again. They march and shuffle along for hours, some conversation, some disagreements, then resolutions, and the day again finds dusk, water, and rest. They carry the wisdom of a million generations. It is a heavy load, but they are strong enough to carry it.
They so love one another. They take care of one another and especially their babies. Like our babies, elephant calves cannot survive without their Mothers for many years. So all the babies are always surrounded, safe and nurtured.
And then, the silence, the absolute absence of sound and movement, the chill, then the whirr of overhead machinery!
This noise does not belong here! This disturbance in this place is unknown and uncomfortable. The fear is like an ice freezing them in place. Unable to move… Where could they move? How? It is surrounding them and there is only exploding dust, the earth erupting, the wailing of pained animals, the desperate whining of their babies, the cries of life leaving and souls clouding up the sky as they float away.
They are so afraid. They know what is happening! They see their families disappear, they are so fearful but now not sure of who to be afraid of? Who is the enemy?
Now they are more timid as they roam, they shiver at any unrecognizable sound. They have communicated with each other. The drums are beating. The message is being sent. The warnings: ‘Don’t drink the Water! Don’t travel in the daylight! Don’t travel in the dark! Stay in the forest, try to reach a village. Run, they are coming!
They are terrified. It is guerilla warfare for these magnificent creatures!
Why, they wonder, why must they hurt us over and over again? Kill us and leave our babies to die? What did we do wrong? We have survived hundreds of thousand of years. We emanate the values God gave all creatures: We love! We create families! We protect our families. We grieve at their loss. We raise them to do the same, and they do and will always do! We want for nothing but the chance to live and love.
We are at peace, won’t you please be at peace with us?
© Cynthia Newlin O'Connor 2014