Wild Songs

I am not alone, for there are eyes Stealthy and curious, And they turn to me. I will shout loudly to the forest, I will shout and with a sob Griping my throat I will cower Quickly Beneath my cloak. For the old gods stand silently Behind the silent trees, And when I shout they step forth And I dare not Look upon their faces.

The red in me Lives too near my throat. My heart is choked with blood, And a rage drives it upward As the moon drags the flood tide Raging Across the marshes. I will dance Somberly, In a ritual Terrible and soothing; I will dance that I may not Tear out his throat In murder.

With wide flung arms, With feet clinging to the earth I will dance. My breath sobs in my belly For an old sorrow that has put out the sun, An old, furious sorrow ... I will grin, I will bare my gums and grin Like a grey wolf who has come upon a bear.