![[carelessly curated]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ou-2!,w_120,h_120,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fffee84c4-dcd9-4a18-b980-f7b8df6d84e5_721x721.png)
![[carelessly curated]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QzCh!,e_trim:10:white/e_trim:10:transparent/h_172,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1563b01-ed04-4ef4-a139-12d07beb9d44_1344x256.png)
[porcelain]
aftermath of an elephant.
there's an elephant in this house.
no, really.
there's an elephant in this house,
in this room even.
you don't believe me?
let me show you its marks.
it's everywhere.
its presence has shaped the atmosphere,
poisoning the peace.
even dormant, no one is safe.
even dormant, it rumbles
threatening to rupture within a split second.
one gets used to the elephant because that's what it wants.
it craves subtle submission.
we liquify ourselves to fit
in the mold it creates.
squeezing together to give the elephant space
but why can't i just ... quit?
i never signed up to be a zoo-keeper.
let me address the rampant elephant,
knowing full-well it won't listen.
the elephant in the porcelain shop might still feel remorse
whereas you?
you take pride in this destruction.
that elephant is hurt by the shards it created
whereas you?
you are numb to our pain.
blood boiling with rage,
tears burning red,
wounding skin as they trickle down.
why must my rage burn me, not you?
may this fire envelope you too.
speaking of elephants
and power dynamics
and disruptive bursts.
i've read the tale about the colonial officer,
his monologue, his conscience.
his fear: the oppressor turning into the oppressed.
β the oppressed turned into spectators of his own demise.
the futility of whose dominion?
i am confusing myself,
is the elephant the officer? am i the officer?
who is oppressing whom? the parallels paralyse me.
shaken to my core,
even my allusion turns into delusion.
however:
he, the officer of course, adapts to fit the mask of his role,
i'll grow to fit the rifle in my hands.
shooting an elephant,
but i've got no qualms.
the elephant rages on and on and on.
little does it know
its madness is contagious.
my pride may be porcelain,
but shards are my weapon.
i will not be going down.
this is a declaration.
at this point iβm not even sure any of this is coherent and thatβs what life has been feeling like lately. (donβt worry, i will not be killing any elephants or men, this is figurative writing.)
i wrote one poem about certain issues and the entire dam kinda broke.
other pieces by me:
![[nerves & blood]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tUCl!,w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5906d097-a451-45ad-9fdb-ee184dcd776a_735x1016.jpeg)
![[jester]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nstk!,w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35d15843-1916-4290-ad8b-38a5f96e9827_1200x1200.jpeg)
![[circus]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5Jbl!,w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F558ea923-341a-42c9-8f57-d79b9f997be4_736x736.jpeg)
cover image credits & bye. π§π½ββοΈ
I really enjoyed how we used the symbolism of the elephant as something that occupies space, something so present that everyone has to reorganize their lives around it. I also feel that weβre all parallel as people, as beings, living through our own parallel realities. Itβs not necessarily about who is the oppressor, who is the victim, or who is the observer. Maybe we are all of them. Maybe we are everything.
This is amazing!!