Coyotes by J.D. Smith Lyrics

Coyotes

Having lingered in green margins and outskirts,
they enter the cities from which we sprawl
as if searching for a prodigal son.

Like the tricksters they are in legend,
one makes us wonder how
a German shepherd got so thin;
another, if a wolf has escaped from the zoo.

At close range,
they resemble only themselves,
defined by great ears and bottlebrush tails,
padding across lawns on their way
to leavings that would otherwise fatten
the raccoon and opossum
once taken by cougar and bear.

Spotted in a floodlight, they gaze back
as if about to pose a question.
Their howling as they bear away
untended dogs, and those dogs’ howling,
bespeaks in tooth and claw a rebuke
for acts we are still learning to name.