desiccated bones
by Douglas J. Lanzo
by parched watering hole
caressed by the trunk
of a daughter clinging to
mother’s memories
This scitanka underscores the tragic deaths of elephants due to increased instances of extreme drought caused or exacerbated by climate change.
One unfortunate byproduct of climate change is that the warmer air holds more water vapor, as warmer air has the ability to absorb more moisture before reaching its saturation point. This leads to extreme precipitation and storms in some areas, but in desert and other dry areas it results in the warmer air acting like a sponge. As such, the warmer air absorbs a larger percentage of the scarce desert / drier area moisture that is present there, exacerbating drought.
Further reading:
There are numerous moving BBC documentaries and video clips depicting elephant grieving for fallen matriachs, including Serengeti II (BBC/Discovery, 2021), Natural World: Elephant Nomads of the Namib Desert (2008), Life Story (BBC) (2014) and BBC Earth Clips (2007-2008).
Author bio:
Doug is an award-winning American author and poet of over 587 internationally published poems whose debut novel The Year of the Bear won the Ames Award for YA Books and whose second book I Have Lived was named American Book Fest Novella of the Year. His Author’s website is www.douglaslanzo.com.