Pachyderms do suffer greatly ( so listen to them more)

13 feet high 7000 kilos
imagine that now if you will
Sure some are smaller
But still such great weight
On four massive legs
It’s wrong to conflate
Size with true strength
Power with big size
We inexcusably don’t realise

Chains around feet and legs
Burden us so
With our weight
We curtail
It’s unjust
And we know
It isn’t the done thing
But many still do
Chain up the elephants
Who suffer, who

Do get frustrated
It’s discriminatory
It favours mahouts
But we shouldn’t be
Making it simpler for humans
What we
Must do
is to respect them
That is my view

Used now for rides
On safari’s
And Or festivals they
Are chained up the rest of the time
The dismay
Is obvious really
To those who do feel
But It’s clear many humans these days
Are not real

If they had the weight
And the stress and the strain
We wouldn’t stop hearing
Yes they would complain
But the elephants suffer
They hurt every day
The chains rip the flesh
And the skin clean away

We owe them a great deal
They ought to have rights
To enjoy some freedom
To me at the heights
Of resentment what we
Is just make them work more
As if it’s obligatory

In Nepal many elephants
Suffer a lot
When the chains are removed
The squeals they are not
A few they are many
It’s obvious they
Feel so much joy at the end of the day

WE shouldn’t neglect them
And though they may not
Kick up a fuss
They may still have got
An injury or an uncomfortable sore
Caused by chains rubbing
Until they are raw

Which can lead to infections
Lameness and pain
Multiplied by their weight
Imagine the strain
Disparaging comments
And sarcastic talk
Does upset these animals
And when they walk

Dressed in regalia
With loud drums and moreIts really eats into their guts
And I am sure
They soon feel unworthy
And even despised
When reality tells me
They should all feel prized

So to remove their chains
And let them forage free
It’s a blessing for them
It’s what they want to see
A seal of approval
A patronage they
Soak up the hours
And it makes their day

But applying the chains
And if and when they see
Some bull hooks carried
Such improbity
It is insincerity
Shameful disgrace
It’s not how you do it
Not in this place

It is really spiteful
That’s if you ask me
I am disabled and pain
Follows me
It tires and it weakens
And the suffering grows
And we soon become irritable
Via our toes

Mahouts have a way
They seldom atone
And very often
You do hear them moan
They do swing the bull hook
And it cuts deep
Reminding you hourly
The nights aren’t for sleep

That’s when you lick your wounds
And aches and pains
Come like a scythe and the
tumult just rains
Down on your senses
Into your soul
It’s then when the pain
Really starts to control

It’s when bulls get angry
And cows as well
Being your captives
To us it’s like hell
You can talk yes all gentle like
Making out you
Are kind and considerate
But it won’t do