Last of His Kind

Last of His Kind
 
When the earth thawed,
Mammoths found their personal Manhattan
in the Pacific Northwest
but with their own trumpet
instead of car horns.
Mammoths were among the original vegans
and the island was like
getting to raid the 24-hour salad bar
on a cruise ship.
They were luckier than pigeons in Yankee Stadium
with walnuts as leftovers instead of popcorn.
The hairy behemoths became grandparent figures
for the humans.
Thereby the sacred purpose of the lumbering beasts
no longer required sacrifice.
The last of his kind shook the hoarfrost off his woolly hair
before lumbering onto a floe
only to use his flanks as ballasts
while seeking the grass-sea
where the wild tundra scent blows.