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An Evil War

They walk the plains of sun-dried grass,
     together in a row;
the mothers, with their young ones, pass
     to search for food and go

for miles with thirst to find a drink;
     as dry season appears.
They walk along, each one in sync,
     alert with eyes and ears.

On different paths, the males walk too
     to feed as they patrol,
and somehow they, with inner clue,
     all find a water hole.

And peacefully they live their days,
     adapt to nature's reign
that serves them well to drink and graze
     and procreate their strain.

But space in their domain is less...
     encroached by humankind,
uncaring of the crowding stress
     they leave on them behind.

Still worse, they have become aware
     of threats of crueler kind,
and learned to watch, to hide, beware
     of horrors which they find.

So oft they see a sight disturbed...
     sprawled out along their path;
a member of their precious herd...
     they trumpet loud with wrath.

They stop and mourn like humans do,
   stand vigil, shocked and chilled;
caress the faceless friend they knew...
   who for his tusks...was killed.


Sandra M. Haight

~1st Place~
Premiere Contest: Evil Is Everywhere
Sponsor: Brian Davey
Judged: 10/08/2016

BBC News: The War On Elephants: April 28, 2016

     "Bloated and eerily upright the large adult elephant was still standing where it had been killed - just next to the stream - its face hacked off....It had been fleeing the carnage in the mud 100m or so away, where the remains of four other adults and one young elephant lay fallen and disfigured, their tusks and trunks all taken for ivory and meat. Like a macabre statue, this faceless animal stood as a landmark to the horrors of poaching, of the ivory trade, and of the mass slaughter of the last remaining elephants in central Africa...
     “It's worth so much more than just the animals. It's about trying to stabilise a whole region which has been unstable for decades. It's about trying to basically build peace. And that is why we wake up every morning, why everyone fights this war, and why we try and save the elephants. It's about basically saving Congo. On 23 April 2016, three rangers were killed in a fresh clash with poachers. Park manager Erik Mararv and another ranger were badly injured."
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