The Elephant of the Sea

This poem is based on a poem I wrote in 8th grade. I mainly rewrote it for the "As Random as me" contest, but I've been meaning to rewrite it for a while. Just for fun :D

The tide lapped against the shore
Sucking the sand from the beach and swallowing it whole
The villagers of Krone rarely watched the ocean
But today an old man stands, bewildered and frozen

In the distance, yet not too far
He sees a pink top hat breech the surface of the water
Rising from the depths of the Eastern Ocean
An elephant floats on its back, illuminated by the sun golden

The old man runs back to the village
Ignoring the arthritis pains plaguing his legs
He drops to his knees, out of breath
In the middle of the street he speaks of the elephant

"The sun shone upon it in such a way
That its wrinkled skin looked as if it was coated in gold!
A pink top hat rests upon its head
With such eloquence it is surely a friend!"

The villagers all laughed at the raving man
But he refused to lie down and accept this embarassment
He pulled himself up and back together
Marching back toward the ocean he called forth the others

"Follow me to witness a true spectacle,
One which you and your children will never forget!
A memory that will be engraved in your mind!
An eponymous moment to be remembered for all time!"

The men, the women, and the smallest of the children
Amassed behind the old man
They marched over the grass dunes with low expectations
Crossing over the natural boundary between safety and destruction

They arrived at the shore of the Eastern Ocean
Looking out for an elephant of skin golden
At first they saw nothing but the violent waves
But then a man pointed and shouted, "Hey!"

In the distance there bobbed a pink top hat
It slowly rose from the water, bathed in the light of the setting sun
Underneath the hat there was an elephant of giant proportions
It sprayed water into the air as it played in the ocean

The villagers stood still, unsure of what to say
Until a fisherman stepped forward and proclaimed,
"Mystery is the place from which this beast came
Let us capture it and make it our village's fame!"

The old man turned, horror spread across his face
"You mustn't capture this poor creature,
It is not ours to take!"

The fisherman laughed and walked toward his boat
"Old man, you don't quite seem to understand
This a beast, and we are Man!"

The fisherman and his crew jumped aboard their vessel
Sailing into the perilous ocean, they went on their venture

Four days later the fishermen all returned
Wheeling a giant cage through the crowded streets
Inside the elephant shook and quivered
Its pink top hat lying at its feet

The villagers stared on in wonderment
"Do our eyes deceive us?
Surely not!"

The elephant, its large eyes filled with fear
Felt its body weaken as no water was near
It fell to its knees, then toppled onto its side
It took one long rattled breath before it died

The old man stood on the curb of the street
Watching the dead elephant lie in a heap
He fell to his knees in unadulterated horror
As the villagers hung the pink top hat atop the clock tower