There is a weary old
grizzled wolf-woman
come to live in my heart.
She wishes to speak:
"It has been such
a long hard journey
to reach this peaceful cave
where I can rest.
For years, I was hunted,
brought down many times,
till I managed to flee.
Once a forest burned around me
and, in the cold times,
I slept in snow burrows
and felt ice and hunger
to my very soul.
I have been wounded, and healed,
even trapped, for a time.
Oh, how I railed and flailed
against the bars of that cage,
how I howled for release.
When I escaped,
I pointed my nose firmly
towards freedom.
After that, I always traveled alone.
It was safer that way,
save for the years my black son
padded beside me,
till it was time for him to take
the wolf path away from
my side.
I cannot travel far, now,
and I long for the wild places,
the ocean's roar,
the forests, the wilderness
that sings through
my soul.
Now captive in my body,
and restricted by the end times,
I look out
through your eyes upon
my vanishing world."
As I sit on my porch swing,
Wolf-Woman is sitting here, too.
We rock silently
and survey the grey skies
of today.
We remember the forest trails
that we loved to wander,
wild beaches
stretching to Forever,
where we once joyously
companioned the tides.
We accept our weary
end of the trail
limitations.
But sometimes, at night,
when the moon is just right,
you can listen
for our howls.
for Susan's prompt at What's Going On: Weariness. Which I feel to my very bones in these troubled and troubling times.
" 'I look out
ReplyDeletethrough your eyes upon
my vanishing world.' " I love the image of wolf-woman living in your heart and speaking to you! I love the image of you two together on the porch swing. And especially I love "when the moon is just right / you can listen / for our howls."
I really like:
ReplyDelete"As I sit on my porch swing,
Wolf-Woman is sitting here, too.
We rock silently
and survey the grey skies
of today."
I can just picture this, Sherry! And I see such peacefulness in those words.
And yes, even the weary can sometimes howl!! And be heard!
The heart as a peaceful cave is life's best reward after a long hard journey. And it's heavenly when it becomes the home of a wolf-woman. The closing stanza is superlative.
ReplyDeleteAnd how those final howls shine like the moon - I love the layers this poem can be read as..may you always run free - Jae
ReplyDeleteI like that grizzly ole wolf woman You can hear her howls from here:)
ReplyDeleteLove it A poem of the strength and resilience of a wolf-woman and this Is beautiful: I long for the wild places,
ReplyDeletethe ocean's roar,
the forests, the wilderness
that sings through
my soul." That sings through my soul too. And I love the end I can hear the howl too :)
Weary, but not defeated, and the piercing howl will echo around the world and cause the cowards to fear for their very lives! Well-penned, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteAging does a lot to a person. It's the only diagnosis for my anemia and for me being in stage 3a of Kidney failure. I am 91, this month be 92. I'm not surprised Wolfe-woman has some of that also.
ReplyDeleteYou have traveled many miles in life. In your journey you have learned wisdom and that wisdom helps sustain your heart in times of weariness. Lovely poem as always, wolf-woman has an amazing spirit.
ReplyDelete"But sometimes, at night,
ReplyDeletewhen the moon is just right,
you can listen
for our howls."
Wonderful poem, Sherry!