I Came Across A Child Of God

Written for dVerse Prosery: “From A Purely
Aesthetic Viewpoint, Levertov”. Our host,
Sanaa, invites us to write prose in 144
words or less including this line: “who can
utter the poignance of all that is constantly
threatened, invaded, expended.”

Today we are honoring Denise Levertov (1923-1997), a British-born American poet known for her free verse, lyrical imagery, spiritual reflections, and political and environmental concerns. She was particularly skilled at finding profound meaning in ordinary observations of the world.

At dusk the herd moves like slow weather across the plane, the matriarch lifting her trunk to read the wind …. what does she read there? Gasoline. Ammo. The sweat of men who have priced her by the kilo.

Somewhere a rhino drowses in her armor, unaware her face is a currency, that a horn of hair grinds to powder, to nothing, in an Eastern cup.

And the lion, photographed beside his smiling killer, his mane a rug’s fringe, his eyes two glass beads in a den in Texas.

Who can utter the poignance of all that is constantly threatened, invaded, expended …. the leopard’s rosettes, each one a small dark sun, the elephant’s grief circling her head, touching the bones to remember how they held her.

Still, at the waterhole, a calf stands on new legs, blowing her dust at the whole sky.

NAR©2026
144 Words

This is “Bless the Beasts and the Children” by The Carpenters

Prosery: From a purely aesthetic viewpoint, Levertov

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}