Elephants, Rajputana

Here elephants are a measure. Rajahs ride

Under tall arrogant gates that take the sway

Of towering howdahs, and still wear today

Their diadem of spikes against the pride

Of battering foreheads; palace yards are wide

For elephants to turn in; this stone stake,

This thick-set wall, this chain designed to take,

The shock of fighting elephants, ankle-tied

And tugging at earth's centre. Men admire

Their monstrous masculinity; gentle women

Affect through sandalled lives their swaying motion.

Here elephants are gods, and gods lead fashion;

They summarize achievement and desire:

A tajah rides his object of devotion.