I

Imagine the Elephant.
That big thing
In your little room.

You can hardly move,
And the elephant 
Is not going anywhere.

This massive being is with you 24/7.
It seems to follow you wherever you go.
There is no getting rid of it.

The thing is—other people don’t see it.
They CAN’T see it.
So there is no use talking about it.

Sometimes you wish that the elephant would go away,
(Wouldn’t life be easier then?)
But you’re stuck with this large and strange being.

It is bigger than life,
And does not want to leave.
There is no getting away from it.

You have to admit that you care about it.
It does not want much.
—Like a person, it wants to be known and loved.


II

Talking about the elephant makes you look crazy.
Few are interested in your story.
It seems made-up.

You try not to sound alarmed
When you tell them what you see,
But they are not really interested anyway.

Most of the time they don’t even ask questions,
Or don’t have much to say.
They want to be polite.
They don’t want to encourage you.

They don’t care what you say.
They want you to talk about something else
That is more familiar and everyday.

After all, who sees elephants?
Why would anybody want to?
How can anybody believe in such a thing?