McMammoth
By Richard King Perkins II
Huntley, Illinois, USA
This is a clone
in the shape of a woolly mammoth.
For her, Siberia isn’t a punishment
but a falsely promised land of permafrost.
Her tusks forage and dig
on the taiga
with measured sadness
as the great slope of her back
offers a momentary ramp,
a tool for climbing humans
to ascend and ride atop her head.
And once you control the head,
you own the rest.
And like our ancestors,
someone will decide
after the elephant ride
that she looks absolutely delicious.