Peter and the Wolf

When did the wolf become the folk enemy?

I think when we turned to fences over the open land. When property became King.

A brother in the wild became a chicken thief, something to be avoided.

I turn to my dogs and wonder what of this wolf spirit remains. In them and in me. 

How much of our modern identity is built on fences? On fences and fear. 

The wolf responds as we treat it. Bites when pushed into a corner. We oversimplify and vilify what stands as a cornerstone in the wild ecosystem.

I hear the coyotes howl in the midnight hour, the wolf spirit is palpable here in Los Angeles. And though the threat they pose is real to my dogs, the wolf is not my foe. The wolf is my wild brother.