Tyke

Made to do circus tricks

that was never for me

I am an elephant

bold as can be

heavy and strong

with a  mind of my own

I had to be broken

I had to be shown

the bull hook was painful

and I felt it bad

kicked slapped and starved

yea I was mad

I could have just killed them

but what would that do

I’d be killed where I stood

I knew that was true

so we all just put up with the bruising

we get

we learn all these tricks

and we just let

the, assorted trainers

knock us about

starve us and do what ever

just clout

chain us up this is not elephant stuff

month after month

life does get rough

and then there’s performing

night after night

we’re allergic to paint

so nothing goes right

they feed  us on food

that is rancid or dry

it s overwhelming

and that is no lie

its the height of absurdity

clowning about

and such hopelessness

and mistrust and such doubt

we do fear the bull hooks

we do suffer pain

we are mentally frightened

again and again

we take those expletives

we do what they say

we climb on our back legs

and often we pay

and one day it all snaps

the anger creates

one too many bull hooks

and it just  grates

it pushes us over

our  anger explodes

and we fucking well bash them

and out on the roads

through the gates

we just run

we know we must be

at the end of our tether

we cannot run free

the bullets will fly

so what we must do

is just take some with  us

trample on a few

My name is Tyke

I perished that way

that riled me, that hurt me

I with  dismay

nothing I did

was ever quite right

I just got a bashing

yea day and night

my legs were so bruised

my head was so sore

he starved me that bastard

whacked me on the jaw

I hated him he was a cruel

scheming shit

and I just had to bear down on him

a bit

just make him feel all those bull hooks he used

pay him back rapidly

I’d been abused

now he was getting the punishment too

as bullets came at me

1  yea then 2 then 3 and then 4

almost 30 and I

was sure I was going

I knew I would die

I became breathless

the pain everywhere

40 and 50 and 60

despair

out in the road

what could I do 70 80

bullets that chew

into ones flesh

I had lost the fight

but I’ got that bastard

I’d killed him alright

played with him fell on him

trod on him, hard

he would never pick up a bull hook

so scarred

so crushed in my anger

so squashed was his frame

and I died a death

what ever they claim

using wild animals

circuses do

drive us to anger

there’s very few

elephants  out there

in circus these days

who remembers

me and my murderous ways

I was as gentle as any around

calm and collected

hardly a sound

did I make I was strong

but I knew

the forest we shared

with the gang and the crew

when I was captured

life then for me

went straight down hill

it was a tragedy

my memories were there

of those nice peaceful days

but the rest were a test

that tended to raise

my hackles a lot

and inevitably

I lost it   I paid

with my life

that was me