Elephant Self-Portrait by Penny Harter

Elephant Self-Portrait
by
Penny Harter

Her trunk grips the brush, dips it

again and again into black ink---

sumie on the canvas of her mind.

Look, the curve of her back is rising,

its segments arcing across the white

rectangle tacked to a rough easel.

Now the swag of her belly emerges,

and we are swept into the rhythm of

a trunk tracing the air between canvas

and ink, her brush quivering with

concentration, reverent in her intent

to arrive at the exact intersections of

haunch and legs, until all four stand

in right relation. Next, the curled

question-marks of tail and trunk appear,

and now a sudden shift to scarlet ink,

a different brush, and a flower opens

on the end of the black stem rising

from her elegant trunk, a flower she

is giving to herself, brilliant in the

garden of her dry and dusty keep.

Penny Harter lives in the Southern New Jersey shore area, about a half-hour inland from the Atlantic Ocean. A mother, grandmother, and former high school teacher of English in New Jersey and Santa Fe, New Mexico, her poems usually feature the natural world and our connections to it. Penny's work also explores the mysteries of time, memory, and mortality. Her collection, Falling Leaves: Haibun and Poems Along the Path (Kelsay Books), is due out later this year. Learn more about Penny at https://www.pennyharterpoet.com.

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penhart:
Thanks, Linda. Glad you liked it.
Posted 10/23/2012 05:50 AM

LindaCrosfield:
Great last line--"...her dry and dusty keep". Good one.
Posted 10/23/2012 01:17 AM

penhart:
Thanks, Stacy! Watching it happen obviously convinced me, and moved me to write the poem.
Posted 10/22/2012 10:20 AM

Stacy Maddox:
I saw this happen on youtube. I was skeptical until I actually watched it happen. I love the last paragraph of the poem! Well done - Thank you for sharing.
Posted 10/22/2012 08:57 AM

penhart:
Dotie, I know that elephants are very smart AND have feelings. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
Posted 10/22/2012 08:19 AM

penhart:
Phebe, bless you for your kind words. Thanks! I'm a fan of your fine work, too.
Posted 10/22/2012 08:18 AM

dotief@comcast.net:
I love elephants and I feel that they are far more knowing than we humans care to believe. This poem reinforces my feelings on the subject of elephant intellect, and I really enjoyed this piece!
Posted 10/22/2012 08:18 AM

phebe.davidson@gmail.com:
I'm a long time fan of Penny Harter's work--and this poem just goes to show why. What can I say but Brava! Brava!
Posted 10/22/2012 07:43 AM

penhart:
Thanks so much! Penny
Posted 10/22/2012 07:38 AM

laurasalas:
This is beautiful--those last two stanzas, especially!
Posted 10/22/2012 06:56 AM

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