Ode to the Noble Sons and Daughters of the Wolf

Ode to the Noble Sons and Daughters of the Wolf

Honor among thieves, unspoken codes

Castaways with shifty eyes downcast

Foreboding shadows in the distance and the sparkle of eyes

A hard life of seeking flesh to devour

Straggly stragglers all

Cursed and hungry rogues

The cruelty of nature fills my heart with doubt

Yet among the outcastes and scapegoats are those who feign not

The winter is momentarily mild and so the dire swords of ice retreat

The lowland green is fair revealed, so rare at this piece of the wheel

Currents of the elements flow along in their domains and between heaven and earth

Questions and wonderings beset me

What will become of this or that?

Who are these folk I run with?

What will be the fate of the pack?

And how do these packs convene?

Pax. Peace. Peace and Hunger in contradiction.

Death sentences revealed, in capture, in cancer, in old age

We chase food and dreams and rest and death chases us

Death always gets its prey

All we can do is accept whatever appears and be mindful of the moments

   and their passengers as they swing by, hang out, and take off

Bitter resentment mixes with regret, with fear, with rage, with shame and remorse

To know even for a moment the essence of the criminal’s fate is know the gaze of hatred

Shame and regret spark a fire of motivation but this fire can consume the homestead

Best to leave well alone after a while and move on

Festering wounds consume the weakened and bewildered

Tomorrow ever threatens to appear

Duties keep us from other pursuits

But from somewhere appears the manifestation of care and pardon

Acknowledgement of the freedom to be

Let the wise wolf buck up and smile on the world

The wise wolf that watches the world, that followed early man, and lay at his feet

The faithful comrade and watcher

Family and social contact rule and the decision of the tribe is final

There is only the pack, the loose confederation to collaborate for food

Clap for the wolfman brother for he is you in the language of the pack

A day wandering alone scrubbing earth and straddling scum ditches

Life is painful. For some unsane murderers the pain turns to rage and rampage

Tragedy is often the fate of wolves and their prey

The moon adds sight to scent

Scents tell stories and reveal paths to food

This language of animals is a matter of life and death, but too of sex and knowledge

Wolf’s bane and wolf’s gain, all manner of stress and strain

May we all be aware of each moment intimately

   whether that moment be adorned with comfort or utter horror

Be with the quality

Be with the nature of mind