IDES OF AUGUST
Coyotes are circling around our truth.
- William Stafford (�Outside�)
Time before the calves come
to fill the canyon
with the scent
of limp placentas,
wet hides licked
to stand and suck
for the wobbly first time �
time to smell milk
on their faces.
Time to find the rifle,
oil the dust away,
locate that brutal place
and stow it
with a box of shells
in the pickup
until they�re big enough
to fend for themselves.