“We admire elephants in part because they demonstrate
What we consider the finest
Human traits:

The circle of humanity is closing in
Tighter and tighter on the tarp-textured creatures
Their tough skin no match for the
Evil of humanity
The greed for disparity 
For a better life for themselves
That they neglect the lives of the gentle giants
Whose tusks they rip from their faces
The horns they tear from their skulls
And leave them for their children and families to find
Face down in the dust and left for dead.

Empathy, self-awareness, and social
Intelligence.

Their eyes reflect the compassion and love
Passed on to their children that tug on their tails from behind
Walking, marching, leading
Their fellow companions to the next resting stop
Protection on their minds, not greed
For the green, lush paper
But for the forest of family that surrounds them.

But the way we treat them puts on display the
Very worst of human behavior.”

Bones bleached and buffered down
Into keychains and pianos
Trinket boxes and bangles and carvings of the creatures they came from
Numbers dwindling and diminishing;
Four million five hundred and eighty-five thousand lost in thirty five years
Reduced to a warning signal
Regal titles of years past stripped and burned
Along with their tusks and teeth
A worldwide complication stemming from where the
Gentle giant wild flowers were cut down before they could bloom.

“I am not a trinket”

*Quotes from Graydon Carter and the WWF Global elephant slogan