Early one, rainy morning
Came the strangest sound,
Where up against a window
Little Borris was peering out
He huffed and puffed
Wiping at the pane –
Wishing that he
Could rub away rain.
‘Oh the summer is meant for sun
So why is it rainy today?
I got up, nice and early,
So outside I could play!’
But still it poured,
Leaving Borris bored,
Wondering what to do?
So, he turned towards his Grandpa,
Thinking that he knew.
‘Huff!’ puffed out little Borris’ cheeks,
Pursing up his lips,
‘Rainy days and school days
Are surely the worst there is!
What are you doing Grandpa?
What do you do when it’s like this?’
‘Huh’ spluttered Grandpa,
Roused from a mini sleep,
Reaching for the remote control
Turning nothing off TV
‘Well, I’m not watching cricket,
Rain will cause delay.
I guess I’ll have to go to sleep
Until they start again.’
‘Boring!’ exclaimed Borris
‘Can’t you teach me something new?’
Something that I’ve not yet learnt
That might be obvious to you’
‘But I am old, as old can be,
What could I know that’s relevant?
My school days were filled –
with tall tales,
Like the life and times of Helephants.’
‘I know all about elephants’ sighed Borris
We read about them at school
I’ve even seen one right up close
On our trip to London Zoo.’
‘Ha ha ha’ chuckled Grandpa,
Out loudly to himself,
You’re thinking of a different creature
An easy mistake to make.
Helephants were like elephants
And roughly the same size,
But shiny black, not grubby grey
And of course –
They knew how to fly.’
‘Fly?’ queried Borris,
Puzzled at the thought
Of how such weight could leave the ground
And what would happen if it dropped.
‘Oh yes’ nodded Grandpa,
But really they would float:
Softly bouncing along the ground
Trunk held high in air,
Ears gently flapping in the breeze,
Always seen in pairs.
While elephants can spend their days
Wallowing in the mud,
Helephants don’t like the dirt
Preferring instead soap suds!’
‘How come I’ve not heard of them
Or seen pictures in my books?’
‘Oh they really were quite rare,
And I expect you’ve not properly looked.
You see’ continued Grandpa,
‘Helephants lived long ago
They were all – very best friends
With the Dodo;
But numbers kept on dwindling
Until both were left just with one.
When the final Dodo died
It broke the Helephant’s heart;
She decided to escape
And jump her way to Mars.
But the thing about Earth and Space
It’s hard to judge distance,
All looks different far away
To when you’re right up close.
So the Helephant she landed,
Not realising it was too soon,
Instead of landing on planet Mars
She’d jumped onto the moon!
And Helephants like all things – to be super clean…
So just imagine at her horror
When all she found was dust!
She quickly made herself a home,
And proceeded to clear up!
But moons are rather musty places
Which need constant work,
And the Helephant began to reminisce
About her life down here on Earth.
One night, she finally decided
That she would take a trip,
And secretly look around
The towns where people live.
But Helephants are rather shy –
She’d have to creep about,
Not making a single noise
To keep her out of sight.
On return to Earth, she couldn’t believe
Stuff people were no longer wanting,
Games and gifts, treasured things,
So she quickly started hoarding;
But it’s not easy carrying bits
Back up to the moon
So she had to change her mind
Not before too soon.
Now you must understand this,
About our curious friend:
Helephants are not naughty
But she doesn’t like to waste,
She hates to think things are forgotten about
Like her and all her friends.
So she gathers all the abstract stuff
That she can fit into her bag
All of it wasted importance
That once humans cared about;
Like the broken vows of lovers
Which are easily caught in her net
Unanswered prayers, and fruitless tears
Also she will get,
But most important are intentions
Which people haven’t done;
And wasted time on rainy days
When people could have done.
I can see you look disbelieving
So next time it’s a clear sky,
Gaze up into the starry night
And perhaps you might just spy;
For looking closely at the moon
You can see just where she’s been:
From Earth they look like craters,
But really they are Helephant prints.
Now, you had best, go upstairs
And think about what to do
Or the Helephant may come down
And your day – you will lose!
Go create with building blocks
Colour in your doodle books,
Make models that you’ve not made
Paint pictures in your paints;
Read that, which you haven’t read
Check out toys you haven’t played
Do the things you’ve been putting off
Then your rainy day you’ll save.
And if you are – still fed up,
You can always tidy up,
Because Helephants only search in mess
Places gathering all the dust!’
Up got little Borris,
Who quickly ran upstairs,
Leaving Grandpa all alone
Sitting in his chair.
Rain tapping on the window,
Was all that you could hear,
As Grandpa gently closed his eyes
Snuggling down to sleep…
Not noticing around him,
All was quiet and still,
Apart from the Helephant
Who had just floated in!
©Do not copy and edit, or reproduce without permission from the author (Abelia May) and full acknowledgement of the author (Abelia May) and website address
https://abeliamayblog.wordpress.com/2019/08/23/have-you-heard-of-the-helephant-fun-poem/
