Wild Elephants

An Elephant Never Forgets

“When things between people end, it’s almost never because of one big catastrophe, or some horrendous reveal. Usually, it’s the end result of a series of small decisions and events; some of those bad, most of them just so. A love affair is a thing between people. As is every other enterprise we can conceive of. Civilisations, also.” Many of you might have noticed that there hasn’t been a new…

"Thank You and Goodbye" by David Wynne "Ten floors. They say that's ten stories, but trust me, there are more stories here than you can count." That's what Bob likes to say.

“Ten floors. They say that’s ten stories, but trust me, there are more stories here than you can count.” That’s what Bob likes to say. Bob has been the caretaker here for longer than I can remember. That’s not his real name, but that’s what I’m calling him for today. Here at Pachyderm Pavilion, we all kind of take him for granted. We forget he’s there, keeping the place running; sweeping the…

"Leaving" by David Baillie 'I don't want it to be over.'

‘I don’t want it to be over.’ ‘I know. But it’s not up to us,’ she said, resting her hand on his shoulder. He looked out of their perfectly, and needlessly, triple glazed con-apt window and admired the glorious verdant wall of vegetation the planet had built around Freedom Towers. He blinked and wondered if a tear had been welling. He was certainly upset enough to cry, but that was not at all his…

"A Cry in the Wilderness" by Alex Jury There is a tree growing in my living room and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it.

There is a tree growing in my living room and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it. I could – and probably should – go and rummage in one of my neighbours’ sheds; I’m not the kind of girl to own an axe or indeed, as I have discovered, anything very practical at all. So many times, I’ve cursed myself – why didn’t I pay more attention? Why didn’t I take the time to learn how things…

"Where is Home?" by JP Polewczak “Papa,” the boy called, “I can’t fit everything in this.”

“Papa,” the boy called, “I can’t fit everything in this.” The boy stood next to his bed. A cardboard box sat on the bed. His father gave specific instructions that he could take anything with him that fit in the box. “If it doesn’t fit, you must leave it behind.” His father said with pain in his throat. The tenement building was being vacated one apartment at a time. Many of the residents had…

"Desecration" by Rivka Jacobs They had the outdoor part of the cafe to themselves. NYC summer heat and humidity had chased everyone else away.

They had the outdoor part of the cafe to themselves. NYC summer heat and humidity had chased everyone else away. Michael laughed at his friend on the other side of the metal table as the latter leaned back in his chair, eyes wide. “I’m not contagious,” he said, and took a sip of his smoothie. “But, radiation….” “Jordan, seriously, it’s okay. The radiation levels are a lot lower today. We each had…

"N7" by Amanda Bird From the newsagents where we stole penny sweets To the front gate where I skinned my shin.

Our Kingdom From the newsagents where we stole penny sweets To the front gate where I skinned my shin. East The shed where someone stashed their porn. We climbed up on the roof and waved centrefolds at the prisoners next door. North A cage with a concrete floor. The echo of a ball bounces off every wall- Summoning much needed feet and hands. West The Sergio twins on a climbing frame. Lazily…

"Zone Of Alienation" by Timothy Swann The cordon contains us.

The cordon contains us. Sure, it’s killing us slowly; better to die slow than die fast. Ironic, right? The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, to keep… well, you know. Them. Out. Give us a little bit of community; we get it: A little community and getting smaller, but a community. All those –ity suffixes, in fact, community, humanity, unity, city. The last of each. What does it…

This is the final image at Elephant Words. It's called "Pripyat", and is by Michael Kötter.

This is the final image at Elephant Words: It’s called “Pripyat”, and is by Michael Kötter. This photo was made available on a Creative Commons license, and can be found in its natural habitat here on Flickr. I’ll be posting great pieces of writing inspired by this image all week, so please check back over the next few days to see what they wrote, or click here! Does this image inspire you to…

"The Motion of Matter Frozen in Time" by Rivka Jacobs The device was simple and small.

The device was simple and small. Shiny wires–some connected to a micro-processor–protruded from one end of an aluminum cylinder. The other end was plugged into an RF cavity that broke the surface of the beam pipe. One of the three physics grad students who made up half their research team–her body a flashing blob in the aluminized Level A hazmat suite–used the microscopy chips built into her…

“Whirls and Whorls” by Matthew Baldwin This week’s image is called “Whirls and Whorls” by Matthew Baldwin This photo was made available on a Creative Commons Attribution license, and can be found in its natural habitat here on Flickr. We’ll be posting great pieces of writing inspired by this image all week, so please check back over the next few days to see what they wrote, or click here! Does…

"Crammed" by JP Polewczak “He did say this would be cumulative, right?”

“He did say this would be cumulative, right?” The hallway was filled with students. Of the roughly fourteen students, they had accounted for 32 hours of combined sleep. “It’s supposed to be cumulative. He definitely said cumulative. Is it cumulative?” Kevin flipped through his notes with one hand while scrolling through emails with the other hand. “Kevin? Kevin? Earth to Kevin?” Jeff pushed…

"nothing shines in the ordinary." by pan ellington Surreality. To think that I actually go here.

Surreality. To think that I actually go here. I’m really not being hard on myself when I say I’m an underachiever. You’re intelligent, but not living up to your potential – that trope is the story of my life. But at the same time, not entirely true, either. If I was engaged you better watch fucking out. Although I really didn’t have a clue. I was too fucking busy enjoying it. Tenth grade, my…

"How to Make the Cut" by Rivka Jacobs Twenty-five young women lined the two walls of the hallway, some sitting, others upright and leaning, book bags and purses scattered about their feet.

Twenty-five young women lined the two walls of the hallway, some sitting, others upright and leaning, book bags and purses scattered about their feet. Most of their faces reflected tension and anxiety, limned by frustration and a little anger. Two of them, blonde, slender Kelly a young woman two years out of high school, and Marta, an older returning student–a beautician with a husband and…

"DEEP WI-FI" by JP Polewczak Do you like SCIENCE? How about TECHNOLOGY?

Do you like SCIENCE? How about TECHNOLOGY? And, let me guess, a little thing called, the “INTERNET”? Of course you do! Well, have I got news for you! Scientists, working in a lab (that’s a laboratory for us laypeople), have put all of these things together to create something for everyone. It’s called, “DEEP WI-FI.” Don’t you hate it when you’re watching your favorite documentary about a typeface…

This week’s image is called “dwinelle hall – uc berkeley” by our very own pan ellington. We’ll be posting great pieces of writing inspired by this image all week, so please check back over the next few days to see what they wrote, or click here! Does this image inspire you to write something? A story, a memory, or a poem? Why not let us know, by posting a link to what you wrote here in the…