The Unwanted - Marilynne Chöphel

[Larry Robinson]

The Unwanted
 
Someone put a baby elephant
In a dumpster.
See it meeting the confines of its walls
With despair and struggle.
Crying to be set free.
 
Meet its untimely arrival
With the knowing nod
Of a wise old Nomadic traveler
Who has gazed upon herds of elephants.
And their prison walls.
 
O tiny desperate one,
Tell me of your journey
That separated you from
The one who loves
And protects you.
Call back that fleeting moment
Of clear sight.
Of truth.
 
And the familiar
Sudden contraction that
Snaps shut the steel door,
Your essence and sweet heart
Suddenly relinquished to
That distant inner realm
For safe keeping.
 
Let’s rest awhile
And befriend 
This confining cocoon.
>From the refuse of long past days
That you are wading through,
Discover the flotsam from
That distant shore,
The far-off harbor where
The break from belonging
Sent you adrift. 
The missed opportunity 
That surfaces to be met now 
With your own true knowing. 
 
Call forth the traveler,
The sailor holding on through the storm,
Navigating to
Calm still waters
To re-claim your heart.
Your truth.
The unique complexity
Of your wholeness.
 
In the compassionate clarity 
Of that vast sea
Even prison walls dissolve,
And elephants swim free.
 
	- Marilynne Chöphel