Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ELEPHANT GODS, by CHARLES FRANCIS RICHTER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ELEPHANT GODS, by                    
First Line: There is a chinese cult of mystery
Last Line: The good man used it for a paper-weight.


There is a Chinese cult of mystery
Whose god is elephantine, monstrous, weird.
Carved out of wood or stone, the deity
Is everywhere, and everywhere is feared.
The rumor goes that one who knows the spell
Can make the household elephants bring death,
Or open all the shrieking doors to hell,
Or blast the city with a poison breath.
Those who have not the secret do not dare
To cast these idols out; the ritual curse
Is worded strongly, so they choose to bear
The present danger, nor to risk the worse.

I saw one on a preacher's desk of late --
The good man used it for a paper-weight.





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