A Wolf Moon (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: An experimental poem about traveling around a forest at night on a wolf. Hope you enjoy it!]

Please come along        dear friends

   on this journey beneath an ancient moon

      that shines like the golden eyes

            of our patient guide

A large white wolf with fur

     radiant as unmarred snow

       though soft as velvet to the touch

                  . . . can you see her now?

           there beside a windswept lake

            deep in that grassy glade

                 surrounded by a thick forest

The scent of pine hangs in the air

     and the white wolf kneels down

     so we can climb upon her back

            to begin our trip

            along a narrow

                     dirt path

                among the trees

Up above

     the stars appear

          one

               at

                 a

                    time

Lights dance through the bushes

    clustered on either side of the path—

            fireflies

         which swirl past and around us

                like tiny lanterns

Crickets sing

     and somewhere

          we can hear a frog ribbit

              then plop into a pond

Although these things happen

      in the darkness

   we can come to hear them

         (or      I suppose   read them)

Just like our ride upon the white wolf

      a trip envisioned in the mind

            set upon paper

         then shared with anyone

               for our furry friend

                 has enough room and strength

                    to carry an unlimited amount

                          of readers

You are free to scratch the white wolf behind the ears

              (which she loves)

      and stretch out upon her back

            (for you will never fall off)

   or perhaps you might walk alongside her

       because she appreciates the ability

          to see you               eye-to-eye

Or

  for the adventurous

       you can hold on tight

    as the white wolf leaps into the forest

         and weaves around the trees at a sprint

    then releases a great howl

         which resounds throughout the woods

              sets ravens to flight

           even while a herd of deer

              race alongside

                 as if in a race

               though none can match the white wolf

A great leap

     takes us high to the very treetops

       where the sky stretches in an array of stars

                                                     and galaxies

                                               and universes

                              into infinity

      but the golden moon

              our wolf moon

                  glows as a beacon

Until the white wolf gives another great leap

     but we drift towards the earth

          rather than come down with a crash

             to continue our trip

We move through the forest all night

           in this special way

                with the White Wolf

          (maybe we try to join her in a howl

                  on occasion)

The stars fade from the heavens

     and the moon dips below the horizon

        where we then awaken in the glade again

               . . . our guide gone for another year

                 . . . or at least until you choose to read

                                   this poem again

                             as readers have the power to do

Advertisement