Wolf Dreams
(of a once hood-less girl)

by Julie Daniels

 
At six years old
my dream world
splintered-
the hounds of night’s shadow
arose hunting me.
 
My fledgling self- expanded
as did your claws
your fur thickened
the cave encircled me.
 
By day you cradled me with praise
loving patriarch:
instructive, kind, solicitous and
safe.
 
You schooled me
in your den of spirited
compassion
our daily
curriculum of
generosity,
curiosity
tales of the supernatural
the deep wisdom
of grace.
 
My skin grew soft, pliable
no hood needed…
 
I grew in nightshade
raucous
rebellious
pup
confounded by the world of
absolutes.
 
My own coat grew-
as yours coarsened.
The ever-present sorrow of the lair
became my cry:
a holy calling to all
abandoned ones.
 
Garbed now by the
(the hooded crimson covering)
 
I grasped and clawed
begging for
release.
 
One day
you could no longer run
leap
or hunt
 
I sat next to you as you lay
in your final burrow,
and sang
that sweet melody of your
innocence
watching in awe
as your coarse veneer
dissolved
into feathery softness.
 
And in anguished relief
I let go
my shield and
howled.


* * * * * 
 
In January of this year, Julie Daniels won The Thomas Lux Poetry Fellowship at The Palm Beach Poetry Festival. Her newest poem “Wonder” was recently published by PIF Magazine, Julie’s essays and memoir have been published by Psychological Perspectives and Thefix.com. Her latest memoir piece, “Rising to Resilience” won The Writer in Residence Award, at the Women of Resilience Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. More about Julie at http://www.teechspeech.com