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Elephant in the Room by Lemn Sissay

Lemn Sissay is a British poet, playwright, broadcaster, and speaker. He published his first book of poems at the age of twenty-one and has since then carved a place for himself in the upper echelons of the UK's literary scene. He is also a regular contributor to radio and TV and a prolific speaker.

Pre-reading task:

This poem uses a well-known idiom - an elephant in the room - and plays with it, by using it literally rather than figuratively.

Before you read the poem, study the dialogue card to find out what the expression means. Then give three examples of situations where the idiom could be used.

Elephant in the Room

A large elephant in small room. Illustration.
Living with an elephant in the room makes life difficult. Image: Andrew Pinder / CC BY-NC 4.0

It isn't what's said, it's what's not said
What says it all.
The day you brought it home
I'll never forget.
It was only seven foot tall then.
An elephant! I said.
Put it in the back yard.
Fine, you said. Fine!
And disgruntled
Tied it to the washing line

As you slept I'd pull back the curtains
Stand by the window and watch it.
A dark shadow. An iceberg. A hump filled the back yard,
Rising and falling with each deep gentle snore.

Breakfasts were never the same again.
The elephant took up all the space
And had no table manners whatsoever.
Although it was useful for the washing-up.
Whenever I broached the subject
You'd rant and rave and fume,
Say I was going crazy, There is no elephant in the room.

But the saddest thing is not the crockery it smashed
Nor the walls it demolished, of our past.
It wasn't the footsteps stamped all over our home.
The cracked floorboards or its wont to roam.
It was the lie established after I said It's there.
For years you looked at me and said, Where, dear, where?

Copyright © Lemn Sissay.
Canongate Books

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