Elephants
By Melina Bowser
After death,
Is there Heaven? Hell?
Nothing?
The unnerving question
Hidden away in a darkened room inside my mind
A place I never visit in the day
Yet, I can’t seem to escape it at night
When my heavy eyelids finally surrender to the exhaustion
I run to shut the door
Lock it up before it slowly seeps out
I make it just in time
I’ve suppressed the hunger for answers
Never wanting to let myself wander
A place I’d only imagine to be daunting
But one can only fast for so long
On a warm evening
A few months after he left us
I allowed myself to open the door
I wanted to see the unknown
A strong image came to me
Floating through a dream for just a few fleeting moments
I saw it:
A boundless savanna
Pale yellow grasses blowing in a faint breeze
Huge African elephants marched through the brush
Laughing with their babies holding onto their tails
Gazelles and zebra grazed quietly
As the warm sunset colored the plains a rich pink and orange
One elephant stopped
Looking at me intently
His kind eyes stared into mine
With a slight nod, he left
A sense of relief washed over me.
