I am the circus elephant
hollow, empty, angry, deranged
taken from all that was important to me
my heart was broken
my soul was bled
born to exist as part of a family
proud as a member, loved and alive
my days were joyful
I had children who I loved so much
and they, with my brothers and sisters
were my whole life
my reason to exist
I am now alone
tortured daily
to perform for you
and I do
dead, without purpose
my existence is empty
like my soul
and all my days
endless and dark
are spent hoping
that some day
somewhere
perhaps when my tormentors
are at ease
I will show you my anger
my twisted and broken heart
will know only rage
as I run from this life
to certain death
crushing as many of you as I can
running in any direction
devoid of all hope
not even remembering the joy of play
or the love I once knew
I will die screaming
when you kill me
and set me free
© 2011 Michael Fiveson
Mike's Look at Life 
Dark and sad and beautiful….
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Thank you! Dark and sad are close cousins to beautiful, but not everyone can appreciate that.
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I am with you there…and you’re welcome.
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Dark, sad and beautiful…..great description !
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Thanks Muddy. Happy new year to you.
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How sad that people take the most wonderful things in creation and out of our arrogance bend them to our misguided will.
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How sad indeed. What a world. Love your writing…..
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Very powerful. I think an awful lot of people feel this way nowadays… the term ‘rat race’ isn’t powerful enough to describe the quiet despair of the grind.
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“The quiet despair of the grind.” I like that. Appeals to my existential rage.
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Very moving.
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Thanks. Serious subject.
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Beautifully written.
I’m not a fan of circuses or zoos. Animals are not entertainment.
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Thank you and you are right, of course. We live in sad world in many ways.
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This hurts. So much. How can something so painful to read be so beautiful? How do you do that? This one hit me hard. I boycott circuses with animals (along with TV programs with animals, and any other entertainment-based media which uses animals). And, as you know from my blog, I am passionate about elephants. They, along with apes, are as close to human as wildlife can be. I fell in deep, lifelong love while working with them in Sri Lanka. This poem evidences that you understand them intimately. I am so moved by this post…
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Yeah, I tear up when I read it too. Thank you.
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Wow. I loved this. Very powerful. Felt it tug on the strings of my heart. I have dealt with tremendous misfortune and pain, and I can feel you have as well. Bless you in your mission to share your light with the world. Love and Light, Celeste.
Thank you for the like! 🙂
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Thank you Celeste. Peace.
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Animals deserve to be free
This made me so sad
Thank you for there words of freedom
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People who abuse animals should be re-educated in prison.
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sad.
and the sadness become deeper when realize that animals suffer for our thirst of entertainment and pride.
the elephant sometime is me…sometimes is you- and the circus is the world who’s clapping and laughing.
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Wow. Fabulous response to this sad poem. Great stuff alex.
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touching and beautiful.. when will people realize that herd animals should remain herd animals.. to separate them for human enjoyment is very cruel.
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People will NEVER realize that because, by and large, we are too damned stupid as a species. But I appreciate that you, and some of us, realize that.
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Wow, what an amazing poem. So powerful. I am an animal lover and do not believe in circuses or animal abuse in any form. Thank you for posting.
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Thank you for looking and understanding as well as for taking the time to comment.
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This made me cry. So passionate and honest … transparent. No words. 🙂
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Makes me cry too. Thank you for taking the time to read.
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That is hauntingly beautiful and so well expressed. I am a lover of elephants…so this really spoke to my soul. Thank you so much for sharing. Amazing.
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I am a lover of elephants as well. Your comment speaks to my soul…..thank you.
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thank you for another touching post. i agree with so many comments here so rather than be redundant i will say your perspective is refreshing in a world of desensitization ~ you’re a gifted poet
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Thanks very much for this comment. It means a lot to me.
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It should be weird that we can relate to an elephant, but we can, can’t we? How else could you have captured so perfectly, the truth of this poem?
Love to read these posts, Mike. I hope I can get to them more often.
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That poem still resonates for me and there is a large print not 5 ft from this laptop of an extended group of elephants in their natural habitat. Nothing crueler than an animal chained and beaten, and that includes oppressed animals of the human kind. Thanks Robyn.
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