The rescue

In the morning, daylight,
the shrill whimper of a coyote
way off somewhere

In his voice, fear,
the cry for help carried
from the distant hills

The sharp bark of dogs, syncopates
his wailing, afraid, surrounded
out of reach of his brothers

I am mesmerized by the voices
and listen with all my hearing
for how the end comes

In that moment, a rescue
by his fellows, running off, free –
the scenario I choose,
the better to imagine myself

 

 

This poem was first published in Across The Margin, October 2014.