Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Wolf

Wolf

Sometimes, a wolf gets in.
At first, his intentions for you
are unclear. He noses through
the cabinets and eats, but
leaves your flesh unmangled.
You go to work, to the bank.
When you return home, he
is still there, draped across
the sofa. He looks up at you
as you drop your keys onto
the end table, as you turn
from him to twist the bolt.
He sleeps on your clothes
because they smell like you,
the pile of them on your
bedroom floor. You let him.
The next day, you find gray,
wiry hairs flecking the sleeve
of your black sweater. You see
them, cactus barbs, and remember
the wolf. You nod at one another
when you pass in the kitchen,
hello, wolf. When you talk to
your friends on the phone, you
consider mentioning him. Do
they have an unspoken wolf
in their home, too. The wolf
is the best thing about you,
his choosing you is. Why me,
you would ask him if you
knew he would answer.
After a month, you wake up
alone. No wolf. You leave
the door ajar, his favorite
shirt of yours on the porch.
Now that he is gone, you
can’t remember how you let
him in.

10 comments

  1. I forget about the wolf more often than I'd like.

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  2. All at once, I have no idea what this is about and I know exactly what this is about. Also, it is an instant favorite.

    That picture (now that I know how to find them!) is creeeepy, but oh the poem you made from it. Yes, "wolves" appear mysteriously, and leave something of themselves behind when they go. How did that happen? It did, and nothin's for nothin'. Loved this, Hannah.

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  3. Wonderful poem, Hannah. This would also make a very good videopoem.

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  4. I agree with Maureen on the video poem idea! Hope to see it sometime in the future. ;)

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  5. I love this poem but not quite sure why and I am trying to discover the wolf in me but I don't think there is one. I have always imagined a red fox in my house mostly because I used to see one on my running trail and I dreamt of capturing him and bringing him home! I think it is weird the things that go through our heads frequently are the same things. : )

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  6. I think there's a whole pack of them inside of me.

    This poem is perfection. I love it. xoxo

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  7. Insanely assured articulation of this conceit. As always, it's the details that matter, like the grey hair on the black sweater.

    I don't know what it says about me vis a vis the other commenters, but I feel like the wolf.

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  8. I like this poem a lot, because I can interpret it on many levels, almost face value, to symbolic of a man in your home, who just kind of attached himself, and then he's gone, and now you kind of miss him. I think it's interesting how some readers can interpret the wolf as someone inside themselves. (I view him as outside.) I've re-read several times. I also like the "voice" of the poem, and lines like these: "You nod at one another when you pass in the kitchen, hello, wolf."

    I also enjoy this line: "The wolf is the best thing about you. The choosing you is." And this one: "He sleeps on your clothes because they smell like you, the pile of them on your bedroom floor." It's the qualifying statements like these that add to the experience of reading the poem, and give it a natural, conversational cadence; and make the events all so entirely plausible.

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  9. I loved this poem! It was funny and sinister at the same time.....nice work!
    -Andrew

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  10. Yeah, this is beyond a children's fable and really good. I agree with others about the consistency of voice and the details that make it convincing and creepy. But I especially love this:

    The wolf
    is the best thing about you,
    his choosing you is.

    What I hear is: we all want to be special, a rock star, chosen, no matter what.

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