That the rich may have their ornaments, a great beast dies.
His flesh is rotting. The predators rip out his tusks.
Dead as a coin, he is covered over with flies.
His majesty dissolves in an endless dusk.
That the rich may have their ornaments, a great beast dies.
Wear in shame your bauble of ivory.
Cosmic scales are here confounded. They can't
weigh your mindless pittance 0f vanity
against the miracle that made an elephant.
That the rich may have their ornaments, a great beast dies.