The Mask of Coyote

Into the darkness.
Away from the light.
The bosom of creepy crawly things.
Rotten and impure.

One can't steal the sun.
One can't hide in noon day.
One can't run when the sun is on the horizon.
There's nowhere to abscond to, to be free from the.
Remand of life in the searing heat.
A jail of vile sweat.

I do not seek illumination Lucifer.
For in the shadows there lies me.
Mangy.
Rabid.
Starving.
Coyote the trickster stuck in desperation.
Nipping at the air.
Biting at the ghosts of dead men.
Dehydrated and delirious.

And if raven stole the sun.
Coyote ate your pets.
And barks at you.
So you think he's
A dog.

Ensconced in my own shadow.
Coyote.
Offers a panicked prayer.
To all the dim places.
Where in the din of silence.
I might lick.
My wounds.