coyote
as i was
hiking up the mountain
through the dried grasses
of a summer gone by
the seeds of saxifrages long eaten
by white-crowned sparrows
i stopped in my tracks
literally and otherwise
the coyote was watching me from above
i suddenly noticed the wind in my face
and the slate grey clouds
and the swirl of my thoughts -
is there something i ought to know
about coyote encounters?
so i sat down in the those dried grasses
my gaze fixed on hers
and she came closer, very slowly
like an unconcerned dog
until she was, say, 10 feet away
- was i breathing?
her golden eyes
became my universe
i felt her kinship and my wildness
i knew the safety of the den
and my pups suckling
yet that's not really what it was either -
and it wasn't one life recognizing the other
it was life looking at itself