1. His body is like a mountain, dark and towering,
With a sweet fragrance rising above it.

2. He has a huge frame, as if his coat of mail
Were iron armor that no arrows can pierce.

3. His tusks gleam like kindled flames,
Revealing what ants had hidden from sight.

4. He charges at mighty, stalwart elephants
As if they were pillars of rock beyond moving.

5. When he shakes the ground, those on it sway
As in an earthquake from his massive weight.

6. A landship whose sail is one large ear,
Flapping at his sides as he strides on long legs,

7. His trunk serves the tasks of hands—
Grasping, throwing, and filling his mouth.

8. I marveled at his thick hide, which no touch can harm,
And empowered him to uproot the tallest palm.

9. He sprays water to soak all the land around,
As if raining down showers on them.

10. He plays with swords as if they were
Shovels wielded by hands that rise up high.

11. When he sees the sultan dismount to honor him,
He kneels in service, tusks probing the ground.

12. Wisest of beasts for his giant size,
His intellect rivals that of rational minds.

13. If reincarnation were true, I’d say
Aristotle’s soul inhabited his mighty frame.

14. A strange creature, now tamed though long
Savage in wilderness and among kin.

15. Exalted is He who created him with the form
Of a gnat—no difference but abundance or lack.