☆ The elephant in the room; thank you J-Rock! ☆

The elephant sits in the room, quietly… hidden just out of sight but still visible if you look hard enough. His mass makes it impossible for anyone to get completely comfortable but no one can quite figure out why. They feel the heat from his body mass and his expelled breath makes the air moist, hot and suffocating. But for some reason everyone ignores it, or thinks to themselves that it's all in their imagination- or at least try to convince themselves of that. Everyone looks around with their fake, sugary sweet, plastered smiles- trying to size up every other person in the room, but always fail to see the obvious. They make small talk- remarks about the weather, the latest fashions, last weekend's cookout, local gossip but no one ever mentions what's really on their mind, the overwhelming, oppressive feeling that seems to permeate every corner of their little gathering. They lift their glasses and drinks toasts to life, love and prosperity –all the while disregarding the obvious.

And so the elephant sits, quietly. Time ticks by slowly and the elephant marks each moment, each moment his presence is ignored. With each moment, as he draws air in and lets it out, the air gets more oppressive and he wonders if anyone will ever acknowledge him. But as each moment, hour, day, month and year goes by- no one ever does. They are more content to ignore him and go about their menial tasks, perfectly resigned to ignoring him. The elephant never forgets, he will forgive each unspoken insult, each slight that is given by the refusal to acknowledge him- but he will never forget. His anguish often slips from his eyes in the form of round teardrops that fall silently to the floor. But he remains silent- hoping, praying that someone will have the courage to say something or simply ask about him.

As the years go by the elephant grows until he takes up all the space and pushes out the people that so easily overlooked him. They go without a second look back, seemingly not to care and his heartache deepens. But he remains silent, alone… sitting, patiently waiting for someone, anyone, to acknowledge his presence.