Elephants Dancing

by Dorothy Miles

Dum-de-dum,
Dum-de-dum,
There in the dust
You dance for me.

One step forward,
Pause, hold;
One step backward,
Pause, hold.
Back and forth
Again and again,
As if your legs
Were held by chains.

Chains!
Of course.
So that's how you learned
Your dancing laws.

One step forward,
Tug, stop;
One step backward,
Tug, stop;
And now that is
Your only dance,
You well-adjusted
Elephants.

I hope some day to see
Elephants dancing free.