Coyote

An ode speaking of the human condition and the struggles involved in identifying our deep emotional fears and one's response to threatening energies inward and outward.

One spring day in the early morn�"

The world newly cleansed from last night's storm.

Sheep graze in the meadow freshly shorn,

while a coyote howls alone and forlorn.

 

I pass through the halls silent and swift,

pausing as my eyes quickly shift

to the space above the mantle, searching for the gift�"

the weapon, dark and forbidding,

I gingerly lift.

 

A feral shape slinks low to the earth closing in

surrounded by the mist, dark as sin.

Heart-pounding rage begins!

Fear is not a choice,

when rage closes in.

 

Mist swirls around the sheep

while something evil lurks deep.

Among the gray mist it surely creeps,

while the cool earth lies�"

asleep.

 

Eyes straining to more clearly see

beyond the meadow’s old apple tree,

beneath its spreading canopy,

a form materialized,

its glowing eyes proud and free!

 

Walking softly, feet wet with dew.

Knowing what I must surely do.

Praying my aim will be straight and true,

as the day begins�"

fresh and new.

 

A voice whispers in my ear.

A voice very, very near.

A voice close and dear.

A voice cracking

with rising fear!

 

Pausing briefly in my quest,

my arms are heavy needing rest.

Perhaps it really is best,

as bile rises

in my chest.

 

The voice I hear--

The voice I fear--

The voice rising like a seer,

as I taste one small

solitary tear.

 

The creeping evil that resides,

the crawling evil that hides

beneath a benevolent apple tree--

is me!

Reviews

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

wonderfully written two forces of nature on a course to collide. A hunter vs, hunter. And the deepest emotion of fear in the balance. I really enjoyed the opposing forces within this poem. It was very striking. Thank you for sharing.

[John the Baptist]

Perhaps we all tend to become too defensive at times, believing evil exists where there is none. This poem illustrates that tendency nicely. The speaker goes into arousal at the sound of a coyote's howling, and believing the sheep are threatened, stalks the intruder with a firearm, only to find the true danger lies within. Maybe our violent society could benefit from reading such a message.