Wolf. Poem by Nomad Goggs

Oh wolf, you have ravaged for far too long,
Running through my mind, my heart and my dreams,
Stealing a childhood, shattering my night- times,
Tearing away at my vulnerable seams.

But then one day I caught you, looking straight at me,
Eyes locked together trapped in headlamp beams,
And all at once as I looked into those deep pools,
Seeing at last, you’re not what you seem.

In an instant I realised you weren’t there to hurt me,
You were just myself by another means,
That shock of recognition, my self sent tormentor,
Trying to catch me, not to bite but redeem.

And now as I walk, through deep ancient forest,
I look round to find you, majestic and grey,
It was easy to stop our daily pursuit,
I just had to stop running away.

So now when you come, sometimes in darkness,
Occasionally I startle, and still take to flight,
But it takes less and less time to slow down my heartrate,
To take inspiration instead of just flight.

So for years I did fear you, hate you, despise you,
Not knowing that we were one and the same,
You scared me, chased me, left me crippled,
But now I embrace and forgive for you are not to blame.

For I am that wolf that gallops through thicket,
Leaping, bounding, a protector at heart,
Now I would have it no other way,
I know for sure we could never part.

(Goggs '06)