The African Elephant

• Gabrielle Lateo, Grade 4, Clarinda Primary School
• Poetry
• 2017

Excellence Award in the 'Spread The Word 2017' competition

The African Elephant

Thump, Thump!

The huge feet of an African elephant pound, causing dirt to take to the air.

The gentle creature’s long wrinkled trunk swishes and sways in the breeze.

His eyes flicker as he pivots a 90 degree rotation.

Scrambling through the dirt, men hunting for ivory appear in the elephant’s clear view.

His tail swishes, his heart pounding heavily, he turns quickly and bounds off in long strides, slowly pulling all of his weight, crushing anything in his path.

Men clumsily scramble until the elephant had disappeared.

The old African elephant sighs.
Such a lucky day for this elephant.