Monday, June 8, 2015

Coyotes at Last Mountain Lake

video by Jon Merk, 
my intrepid wilderness-loving son



I heard the coyotes howling
as evening fell
at Last Mountain Lake,
and I thought of you,
my old wolf-pal,
and how you would tip 
your nose up to the moon
and howl mournfully
for all the wild places you loved
that we had lost.
Then you'd come to me, and rest 
your forehead against my knee,
wearily, for comfort.
We loved and lost so much together,
old pal of mine.
But, always, we had each other.

And now I am alone.
My nose tilted up
towards the moon,
an inner howl
expressed in secret tears.
Still missing our wild beaches.
And you.


11 comments:

  1. You have such wonderful memories, Sherry! Continue to keep them alive, and keep your nose tilted up always! I do hope sometime you find yourself another 'wolf.'

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  2. You go right on and HOWL out loud! Fine fine poem!

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  3. Mising places. And the things that remind us of them. Dont get many wolf howls around here, do get some wild dogs. I am the same way about trains though, I grew up hearing them as I fell asleep --- and now I do not.

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  4. such a beautiful poem of longing...

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  5. " howl mournfully
    for all the wild places you loved" - I love this 'explanation' for why dogs and wolves howl and then how you link that to your own personal and more global pain. Another great poem, Sherry.

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  6. Beautiful! I know you love movies, did you see the movie, "Antonio's Line," certainly one of my favs...the 'howling' made me think of it....

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  7. We hold that place for them...

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  8. I love/hate that your poem made me cry. I can so much relate to missing a four legged loved one so much. I enjoyed that howl your son recorded. True confession - sometimes I go outside and my howl is not internal, but loud and real. It feels good.

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  9. Not just you, Sherry. We miss him too, as much as we miss all those beloved souls who have passed on ...

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  10. Oh, Sherry! I know you miss him-so~ He was unique and your soul pet-I miss my furry boy, too~

    This is so touching and beautiful~ He would want you to still visit all the magic nature offers. Someday you will walk the shore with him again~ Hugs

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  11. I so related to this, Sherry. It's so easy to get lost in the drudgery of routine we lose sight of the glorious world we inhabit. BTW, we have dozens of photos of "our" white hummer. He was a gift.

    Google won't let me use wordpress to comment!! So this is my defunct Google acct.

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