Of Spotted Wolves, Fireflies, and Mocking Birds

I sit as the day is slowly eaten
By the hungry dusk, small sliver by small sliver.
I sit on the ground,
Nothing more than the cloth of my pants
Meeting the moist, soft grass
Supported by the hard, warm earth.
I watch as evening wins and day gives in.

I sit and breathe the perfume
Given up by flowers as the air turns cooler.
The fragrant sigh of comfort after the heat of the day is done.
I sit and watch as the garden lights
Energized by their day in the sun
Begin the erratic flickering to life.
One by one following as if afraid to be left out of the crowd.

I watch as just out of my sight,
A wolf circles round and round.
Then sits regarding me
With level gaze and a canine grin
Unblinking it waits till I begin to know,
Then, without a sound, it pads off
And I watch it go.

I sit in the quiet and watch the display
As the fireflies begin their swirling play
Out of the lawn and into the night.
I watch as they multiply and make me smile.
I remember nights of catching them in jars
And safely letting them go before I headed to bed.

I sit there in the glory of early night
Giving thanks for my senses and my delight.
And, just as I think of sitting no longer,
Off in the distance, I hear the sweet song
Of my dear friend, the Mocking Bird,
Paying its homage to the day in its way.
Mimicking the songs of every other
But having no song of its own to sing.

And, as the serenade begins to fade,
I become aware of a new shade sitting close.
Just behind my right shoulder, on the grass
Close behind me with eyes the glow of
Firefly light and inky as the night now here,
The Panther sits and contemplates me,
And I, her, without fear.

She has made herself known to me on this
Summer night, as I sit on the grass
And watch the night grow
The fireflies dance,
The world slow.

With a prayer to the Old Ones, I say my thanks.
I rise with grace renewed and move toward the house.
This new acquaintance slinks quietly,
With familiarity, beside me.
A new chapter begins.

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Seeks
all images, except the last one which is mine, courtesy of the Internet