Longing of the Wolf

Each night, you find me

Or I find you

I am never sure which of us does the searching

-

Either way, there you are

Unhurried, patient in the dark

-

You watch as I move

feet pressing into the soft earth

nose reading each scent

like a story I was meant to hear

-

A rabbit trembles

The wind threads itself through the pines

My breath leaves me in small white ghosts

-

Without you

I would still run

but the night would not open

the path would not shine

with its quiet invitations

-

Why do you watch?

Why do I want so badly

for you to keep watching?

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See me, moon, as I see you

a wild thing alone in its own silence

-

When I stop to drink

You float there too

silver and rippling

-

I lap at the water, I take you into me

and I feel strong enough

to lead the whole world

-

The stars, too, are watching

They pierce the sky like curious eyes

They do not speak

-

but they listen

To the wind

to the trees

to me

-

And when I lift my voice

that long, reaching call

the stars shiver, as if my longing moves them

-

Does it move you, moon?

Is my want meaningless

In the vast expanse of this world?

-

I call for my pack

for the night

for you

-

Do you hear how I carry your name?

How the note rises

just to touch you?

-

Sometimes, you turn away

Your light thins

It's a secret you keep from us

The sky empties

and the world becomes a darker kind of hunger

-

What have we done, to make you hide?

Is our devotion too loud

too full of teeth?

-

Still, we wait

We walk

We listen for each other

We sing to fill the silence

you have left behind

-

We love you, moon

We follow your slow wisdom

across the endless night

-

We know you are trying

to show us something

even when we cannot see it

-

Teach us the shape of your silence

Tell us what it means to stay

and what it means to return