The mother wolf outside her secret lair
narrow entrance hidden behind thick bush
seven newborns within
yelping loudly, hungry for her return.
She walks,lanky, half starved, keen eyes observing
waiting for movements to betray her prey
hidden behind snow drifts, invisible
snowshoes hare, sniffs air, starts running.
Clumps of grass poke through where sun has been
snow drifts cover areas of forest
wolf mother searches for her prey
white-tailed deer, snowshoe hare or mice.
Powerful jaws, razor sharp teeth, lean body
keen eyes spot foraging band of hares
wolf mother, trotting upwind, not instantly sensed
springs forwards, jaws ready.
Suddenly she gives a snarl, her teeth bared
hind legs imprisoned by biting steel
shrill howls of anguish shatters forest stillness
crimsoned red spreads over white snow bank
Seven little pups, now orphans, howl their despair
alone in the den with no mother to care.
Poet's Note:
This poem has been performed several times in front of audiences. It was written in 2010 and the interesting thing is that in order to learn more about wolves, I went to the internet and found a wolf howl. I kept playing and playing it, and my three cats at that time, kept looking all around for the source of the howl. It was quite funny to see their expressions - they kept looking at me and then realized they were quite safe. After a while, they just went back to their usual occupation - sleeping.....
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