"Wolf Circle"

Jerry Jenkins
George Mason University
USA
72703.3234@compuserve.com

Deep South v.1 n.2 (May, 1995)

Copyright (c) 1995 by Jerry Jenkins, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the New Zealand Copyright Act 1962. It may be archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that the journal is notified. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works, or for resale. For such uses, written permission of the author and the notification of the journal are required. Write to Deep South, Department of English, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Wolf Circle

I saw my father as the winter faded.
We knew this visit was to be our last.
Our talk was calm. With every glance we traded,
we sought what we'd neglected as years passed,
waiting for the moment one would waver
and put aside the mask for just a while,
eye to eye to prove who could be braver,
covering our longing with our guile.
We circled as two wolves about to duel,
stiff and watchful, close, but out of reach,
proud, respectful, patient, loving, cruel:
traits that sons must learn and fathers teach.

Well he taught, and well I learned them from him.
They served us both until that final day,
when wolf and gray wolf thought to close the circle.
Helpless, we couldn't find the way.

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