Motivation

In northeast India,
a herd of hungry elephants
rampaged through a village,
trampling to death
a young family
as they slept in their hut.
Forest guards tried
to drive the elephants away
with firecrackers, torches,
but the herd was large
and couldn’t be stopped.
The elephant’s habitat
had been diminished
by human development,
and people forgot
that the big beasts
couldn’t go shopping for food
at the local supermarket.