the alpha wolf dreams
she is on her greatest hunt.
the prey is worthy & strong
her twitches and yelps
awaken her pack
they stand around her
recognize the cues
this is a great hunt.
as one, they lay down
and close their eyes
and she is surrounded again
by her pack
moving endlessly towards the kill mjh
8/18/04
101°
Glenn Gould plays Bach
as I step on that distant shore.
Handing my coppers to the boatman,
I look up the bank for you
among the crowd
scanning the new arrivals for
old friends
to lead across the fields
when the dog barks —
1 head, not 3 —
I’m not dead yet,
as Charon’s ferry folds
into the sofa,
where I shiver
in fevered dreams
between two worlds
not ready for either. mjh
first published 3/9/05
Listen to 101°
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)
at night
the wolves wait
on my temples
for the elk to venture
from my sparse hairline
onto my forehead
instantly, the pack pursues the herd
some escape into the thicket of my eyebrows
as the rest charge across
the curve of my cheek
longing for the forest of my beard
I sleep through the slaughter
on my jaw
soothed by the steady snores
of slumbering bears
in the caves of my ears mjh
10/12/2004
(Thanks to Merri for ‘slumbering.’)
Listen to Slumber
My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)