Once there was a little girl
who had an elephant.

it is not clear how it came about,
but she loved it.

one day she decided that she wanted
to go to the house up the street,

where the humans were,
for she lived with others,

people she had created out of ink and paper,
enchanted and kind, but untouchable.

she came up to the door,
and read the sign that hung on the door.

STRICTLY NO ELEPHANTS
read the sign in the big bold letters.

she looked at her elephant,
with eyes made of rain and chocolate,

and sat on the stoop and began to think,
grabbing a pen and paper.

the people inside the house read the little girl's paper,
the paper that was stuck on the door,

some began to weep for what they had lost
to get into the house.

some began to long, long for the outside world
where they could run and jump and see what they could do.

and yet some hardened their hearts further,
firm in their belief that anything different was evil.

people came into the streets with the girl,
weeping for those who stayed.

and slowly, their animals came back to them,
dancing and different, all so different, so beautiful.

and they lived.

they lived with their differences,
with their love,
with their joy,
with their anger.

all because of a little girl
and an elephant.

#sos18