The Last Howl

Prelude

She howled to the moon in a faraway land
And they howled back just to hear her
She lifted her voice
And they lifted theirs
And then she lost them forever

The First Fall-away

I lost those two early on
And though I mourned
The loss,
I had known before, that
They would leave.
For they spent their lives
In the cage of their own
Freedom
And now
Their howls hardly reach us anymore
I watch the others
The ones who had some
Hope.
Who could have had a
Life less ruined
Yet,
When one leader leaves
Another always takes over.

Return

I left knowing my pack needed little supervision
Seeing the quick return of power after my first absence
I naturally supposed that
This time would be the same
She gathers them round so easily
One quick howl and they arrive
I can not retake my position
I do not have the right.
Now at the bottom
I watch,
As I am slowly
Forgotten.
How did it happen?
I watch as the order of the pack shifts
View the sight of others
Who like me are slowly forgotten
The realization comes
That my young successor
Does not understand her role.
So I watch and wait
As the wind carries in
Their forgotten disorder.
I return to the night again

The Loss of the Pack

I am sure the change came
Slowly,
With one more piercing of their hearts
Or, a brief loss of their souls
Yet, returning to see
Them,
So changed
Is a shock that
Shakes me to the quick
The pain howls deep and
Loud.
I know the hurt
When time after time
I saw them leave
Slowly slip from my grasp
Only seldom look back
Why does she seem to not feel it?
Among so many of the lost ones
Do I not have the right
To try with one last
Desperate grasp
To keep them here
By my side?

Lone Wolf Again

I watch now from a distance
They won't notice me unless I give a howl
They would still take me in
Yet, I will have nothing to do with a pack like that
They have forgotten the old days
The old ways
They have forgotten that we all were lone once
They bring in more now
But let most go
They don't seem to care when those who were true
Get up, give one last look
Goodbye
And leave.
Those warriors will not be turning back
Their fierce loyalty
Will be turned to something else now.
Just as it is with me
I have just about given up
Why is it then that I still look back?
Why do I wait beyond their circle?
In the night, where their light
Will not come any longer
Why is it I who stands
Beyond the shadows
What am I waiting for
I am still an alpha female
I have found a new alpha male
Yet with no pack
I still look back
I still dance beyond
Their fire.

One last look back

Their fire begins to dim
Their howls are diminishing
I hardly recognize them now
She howls back once or twice
But we both know I'm gone
I think we both knew long ago
When I padded into their circle
And saw more members
But knew less faces
We both knew when I
Tail-tucked, backed out and left.
I still hear her howls
Echo, like a prophetic
Voice,
"We hardly gather anymore...
I have no idea what most of them are doing...
I never hear from him anymore...
We are each going our own ways."
I sigh and look back once
Then turn and pad slowly
Back, towards this new
Land, and a new pack
But not my own.

Epilogue

In a far away land she howled to the wind
And the silence flattened her down
For though she felt a new pack
Running close by
She heard no howls on the wind
Her old pack seldom howled
And she knew that the old legend was true
That a pack of your own
Is as hard to catch
As a newly blown wind on the plain
And once caught never stays in one place
Always leaves like the dew and the rain