[zygote]

HUMAN CONDITION BIRTH/DEATH: THE UNKNOWABLE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.

Now – we are born. We have changed our names so often.
The sun and rain forgotten from those hopeful days of autumn.
Faithfully begotten, one day the day is bound to come -
My newborn palm grasped around your thumb…

Lord Venkateswara looks down into his dungeon. It brings him no pleasure.
Inside the dungeon there is a chained Elephant and five blind, old lepers.

BEFORE YOU IS A CREATURE. THERE ARE FIVE AMONG YOU, AND ALL OF YOU ARE BLIND.
WHOEVER CAN BEST DESCRIBE THE CREATURE, I WILL RESTORE YOUR USE OF SIGHT.

Now filled with hope, for the last 3 seasons the first leper was begging for death,
He begins running his hand up and down the Elephant’s leg -
The first leper speaks, “The creature is obviously as strong as a pillar.
It feels like a tree trunk but the skin is softer than timber.”

As the first leper speaks, the second thinks he has heard just enough,
So he begins running his knuckles across the Elephant’s tusk –
The second leper interrupts, “Bah, the creature is as sharp as a spear.
The skin is not soft, it is hard like iron, it feels just like a plowshare.”

The third doesn’t trust the first two, hrmphh he deeply exhales,
He concentrates on textures as his fingers pull at the Elephant’s tail -
The third leper shouts, “Fools! Both ignorant fools! The creature is as thin as a rope.
Its texture is like cane, wheat, or the long reeds on a hillside’s slope.”

The fourth is frozen, feelings of hope have transformed his stress into fear.
He starts by pressing his palms against the Elephant’s ear -
The fourth leper shrieks, “HAH! Not at all, what an inaccurate claim!
The creature is as flat as a fan. It is not like a slope it is flat like the plains.”

The fifth waits for his final turn as the pressure builds up.
He moves towards the others and feels along the Elephant’s trunk -
The fifth leper screams, “The creature is the same shape as a snake!
The creature is a snake! I see the truth, you have all made a mistake!”

The first leper walks over and slaps the fifth leper across his face.
“Bastard. Your father was a donkey mule. You were born from rape.”
The second leper interrupts “Bah, your mother was a monkey’s whore. “
“You too are a bastard. You have the manner of a rutting boar!”
The third leper stumbles forward, “All of you are fools. Ignorant fools.
I pity your delusions. Others hold you all up to ridicule.”
The fourth leper shrieks, “HAH! Lord Venka knows I am right.
He will free me this cold night and restore sight to the blind!”
The fifth leper screams and leaps once more into the fray,
He knocks the first leper down and begins to claw at his face.
The third and second wrestle while the fourth looks with despair to the air,
“LORD VENKA!” he shrieks, as the others fight, he tears out his hair.

Lord Venkateswara knows they will never figure out the prize.
He watches as they quarrel and gouge each others eyes.

Then - air seeps through the graveyard, we are cautioned to surrender
As we crawl for shelter from the harshness of this weather,
All of us together, our thoughts become so fragile,
It all no longer matters, before the storm it’s calm and tranquil.
Remorsefully we’re thankful for the cold we will receive,
So we hold our hands together and hope for a reprieve...