Friday, April 15, 2011

Black Wolf of My Heart


[image from howlingforjustice.wordpress.com,
an activist working for protection of wolves from
crossbow and archery hunting]

Kids, this morning I woke up with a poem in my head about a black wolf - my black wolf, or at least his spirit-kin, now moving through the forest in his stead. But when I went to look for images, everywhere I clicked told a story of heartbreak. The above wolf, in danger of dying a horrifying death by crossbow or, more slowly, by a half dozen arrows; the wolf below, beloved in his home town of Juneau, found illegally shot dead, his life ended by random cruelty, ignorance and lack of consciousness. Likely my poem today will be a different one than I had in mind. I was thinking of him walking through his forest in safety and calm, not being hunted down in his diminishing habitat. These fellows look exactly like my own wolf-dog, who had a heart and intelligence - and  right to live - as does any other being. I rescued and protected one wolf. I wish I could protect them all from the worst predator of all - mankind.


[photo by Brian Wallace at Juneau Empire newspaper,
posted after
 this locally loved wolf was found illegally shot dead]

Black Wolf
of my heart,
your intelligent eyes
look out
on a world
full of
unexpected
peril.

You have to
struggle
to survive,
to find food,
to find shelter,
to make it through
hungry winters,
to raise your young,
to not be killed
before they are
able to
make their
own way.

But most of all
you must be wary
of the
Two-Leggeds,
who drive their
noisy machines
through your wilderness,
tossing beer cans
left and right,
raising their guns,
their crossbows,
their arrows
at anything that moves,
back-slapping,
raucous,
completely disconnected
from the
land
they tromp through
so heedlessly.

God and Goddess
of the All That Is,
protect these
creatures
that live more
intelligently
than we do.
Guide them to
secret and
sacred
pathways,
that they may
survive
our thoughtless
and predatory ways.

For a world
without wolves
is a world
I cannot
contemplate.

April is the Month of the Wolf in Boulder, Colorado, where people are trying to raise awareness about these beautiful creatures.

[freewebs.com]

"You can't love nature
with a gun."
Paul Watson, Greenpeace

3 comments:

  1. I had to stop reading. I can't bear cruelty to animals. Especially such magnificent ones.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love animals, and wolves are one of my favorite. Your poem was heart-touching. Peace For The Wolves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful and heartfelt. Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete

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