Welcoming the Dawn

Idyllic rural landscape on a hill with a tree on a meadow at sunrise © iStock by Getty Images.

A website devoted to poetry and other writings that invite us to create a new, more humane tomorrow.

We forge this new tomorrow by naming—and living—what is best in us, what brings us together, what resonates from the deepest levels of our shared humanity.

My Name . . . 

unsure of what
my name might be
yet knowing i was more
than just an accident of birth
and circumstance
i looked
within the depths of me

i sought a name that said
i’m not afraid
to tread new paths

and since i am one too
i thought 
right off
of animals
 
of horses
and of bears
of cats 
and dogs
of squirrels
anteaters
and hares

but
in the end
though some could be companions
i saw none of them
as me

and then
the image of a gray wolf
unexpectedly 
emerged

of course
i hadn’t just been waiting for 
some random bird
to perch upon a limb
or some stray cat or dog
to wander to my door
for in a thing as personal as this
there had to be
a certain kind of fit

and so i went online

i learned
we both are social

when we mate
we mate for life

communication 
is important to us both
although i like to think
that mine involves
a lesser incidence 
of whines
and howls
and barks
and growls

and we both thrive 
in many kinds
of habitats

except when hunted
nearly to extinction

lots of images 
passed through my mind
but one 
kept coming back

the image
of a gray wolf
standing all alone
and gazing 
at a rising sun

i knew
my name was
gray wolf
welcoming the dawn

From Into the Wind © 2021 Charles Schlee.  To view information about the book, go to www.cyberwit.net or Publications – Charles Schlee.

Grey wolf in the forest © iStock by Getty Images.

What is your name?

To view poetry books and other writings, go to Publications – Charles Schlee .