Elephant

Never apologize for who you are, she says

For then you are apologizing for the truth

But what truth? You reply

For truth is an elephant

Innocent, exotic, immense, unforgetting

And we are all blind beggars

Invite us to touch and we will stumble

Who knows where we will land?

Who will you meet when you touch her?

She is love and her love is a trunk generous and enveloping

She is courage and her courage is a back resilient and sustaining

She is the hind legs of righteousness

She is the soft lips of beauty

She is the mindful ears of wisdom

All wrapped in the skin of an experience

That every blind man begs to define

Can anyone fully know without asking her?

She sits awkward in this room