Desert Elephants of Namibia

Silent and synchronous,
The herd take flight as one, for no obvious reason,
Or simultaneously raise their ears, frozen in their tracks,-
The air is throbbing with weird secret thunder,
Infrasonic rumbles across the distances,
And the mastodons’ brows vibrate in communication.

No sooner does a female come into oestrus
Than males converge from all directions and surround her,
Fighting and rutting,
Drawn by her irresistible song,
Her slow deep rumbles, gently rising,
Ever stronger and higher in pitch,
Then descending again into silence.

Proudly the desert elephants follow their ancestors’ voices
Over gravel plains and anfractuous mountains,
Across dunes, and down sere riverbeds
To the ancient wells that call them,
Led by the matriarchs of fabulous memory,
To dig and drink the nectar, as their forefathers did.

Tusks torn out by poachers lie in dust,
Emptied of immemorial experience,
Nothing remains but little white carvings
In ladies’ jewel boxes, anointed with lush scent.