I fell asleep with small fears tugging at my covers
But woke up sweating with dreams of fighting drunks and coyotes
I caught my breath, remembering how
coyotes send out a feeler to play and draw
curious pups away from home
to the edges of the red-rimmed rocks
where the pack waits, muffling yips and adrenaline
anxious to descend, to immobilize and feast
Fear does the same thing—a tiny fear circles
The wolf-whine should scare me, but it pricks my interest
I stop to stare when I should run like hell
That little fear grows with rehearsal
Until it drags me to the huddle of pack fears
Failure… Pain…Insignificance… The Unknown
The saguaros point the way out- look up to break the spell,
but I’m mesmerized by what the coyote fear offers
He seems to offer knowledge, but it’s the tree of life’s lie again
only death waits in the shadows where the pack leers
He is cunning and his antics eye-catching,
but I must remember his home as I stare
He lives in the crags as a vulture of the red rocks
predatory and intriguing because it keeps him alive
The coyote fear needs me to pay attention to him
I’m a distraction from hunger
His intent only to draw out and kill
Stop staring at the fear. Walk away from its lure
An indigo sky begs for wonder
Dry desert air desperate to be breathed deep
Shake off the dust at the old coyote fear
Wake up to the wonder of the red rocks rising
Deaf to the coyote calls, heart set on the mountain.
suelarkinsweems ’15
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