Elephants At Night Poem by Abraham Sutzkever

Hunting Song

Elephants at night, heavy ghosts
Coming one after another
Bathing in the river,
Are not elephants,
They just wear the mask.
I, the hunter of the night,
Who saw how stars
Turn into antelopes —
Once upon a time, was lurking
At the river, among grass, for seven
Moon elephants
Walking to the shore.

Each of them pondered the river for a while
To see if all was clear,
And took off his elephant mask.
Took off his ears, his tusks, his long trunk —
And before my eyes, appeared
Seven girls.
Seven girls slice the water with their breasts,
Bend like tempting rays,
Swim, swim.

I knew: soon they'll swim back and don
Their ears, trunks — will be elephants again.
Quieter than a serpent, I crept up to the masks,
Took one and hid myself.
And when the seven girls, in a veil of pearls,
Began to don their elephant costumes —
One missed her mask, remained naked,
Naked on a stone, her skin trembling,
No friend, no caress, no warmth.

And I, the hunter,
Married her — a girl with no mask.