Mythos

[song_of_thea]

As the veils between the worlds
Thin and dissipate
I deign to touch the Earth in its present turmoil
Allow myself a peek at the fates

A startled cat runs across the way
Seeking refuge beneath a derelict housing crawlspace,
I raise my hackles, realizing in my haste
I have been spotted on this plane

A lone human male
Bedecked in bright lights that strobe
Jogs across the path, then gazes
Upon my visage for a brief moment

“Mange,” I hear it say,
“Filthy Coyote, get away!
I have pepper spray!”
As if I understand his guttural language
Of human flesh

Still, I have no interest in such mortal pestilence
And his light bothers me, so
I wander to the edge of his blinking night-light
Only my golden eyes does my presence betray

The jogging human gives chase
As many silly men would
I take amusement and play
More than I should
I reach a stream, which separates
His world from mine
I trot to beyond the mists
Crossing the threshold of time

Not to be dismayed,
The human follows beyond where he should
Across the river, he discovers that I have betrayed
For at the banks, nothing stood

It is rumored that while I, the great Coyote,
Create the stars and universes
I also harbor a great secret,
Which this human did ascertain

It is small, and only this:
I do not exist!
Ha!
He chased my illusions
For what?
Existentialist dreams?

If you spot mangy old Coyote,
You’re supposed to flee!
I prowl the streets and dreams humans have stolen
Or developed, as they seem to believe
I provide no answers, no texts
I am God here!
Yet I am also nothing here

Do not feed me,
My mange is but an illusion
Instead, leave me to touch this plane and
Laugh as civilizations rise and fall again

And when you puny humans fall
As you always do
Do not blame Coyote
For I do not exist

Comments

[adoptedwriter]

I enjoyed this. We have actual coyotes around here. I hear them at night.

[song_of_thea]

A coyote serenaded me two nights ago. It inspired me to write this poem. Two strips from Gunnerkrigg Court also leaned a hand. In this, Coyote tells a Antimony (a young girl) a secret.

They are here:

https://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1067
https://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1068

[rayaso]

I love that you wrote this from the perspective of the coyote. Our neighborhood is having a problem with coyotes from a river parkway. Too many cats have gone missing.

[halfshellvenus]

I liked seeing the coyote's POV on this-- the jogger with the strobing light, and how strange and painful that would seem to a wild animal.

I also liked the sense of the coyote being a manifestation of something else, not human or animal, not truly part of this world. It reminded me of the Trickster legends, where coyote is a form the god takes but not what he truly is.

[thephantomq]

I love the otherworldly feel of this. The perspective of the coyote/god really makes this piece work. :)

[tatdatcm]

I love the poetic perspective of this and the idea that the coyote is not what it seems.

[moretta]

I really like this image of Coyote-god-illusion. Very nicely done.

[bellatrixe]

Beautiful! I loved the atmosphere in this, especially this part

And when you puny humans fall
As you always do
Do not blame Coyote
For I do not exist

[murielle]

Love this! But you know, I talk to animals. I talk to all animals, real and not-so-real, so if I came upon mangy old Coyote I would talk to him, I would wish him well. I couldn't help myself.

Great read!