Letting Go

Majestic elephant ears impossible to believe without a photo. A week later and a hard freeze and there is almost nothing left. So I get out my small hand clippers and cut into the stem that tried very hard to be a trunk. It takes ten or more cuts to get through it. Water seeps onto the clippers, the blood of the creature freely given. Sitting and cutting it into smaller pieces for the compost pile, I find several leaves inside, wrapped around and around, ready to unfurl in case the season turned out to be longer. But it never is much longer. Winter creeps up regardless of the global warming. It knows its time is spent and has no regrets. It lets go without a whimper or sigh. The human gets all sentimental. Sadness and joy envelop him as he understands one more slice of the mystery! Meanwhile the elephant in Africa does not wonder about her ears, but drags her mate to the elephant graveyard. She will visit him again and again, wondering what became of him, as she watches his carcass get eaten by the carrion hunters, and his bones whiten in the sun. Finally she too will let go, seeking solace by hiding in the big green leaves of her home in the foliage. [7234]