Wolf Moon

The hills lie still and silence reigns
On this cold and starlit night.
Only a whispered sigh among the canes
Shift shades on the snow beneath starlight.

Winter's host dots the sky
Familiar forms I see
The Hunter, the Bears, and Gemini,
Taurus and Bootes.

To the east horizon comes a glow
Silhouetting the forest spires.
As Earth spins onward rolling slow
The sky brightens and dark retires.

Now peeking through the trees
Shafts of Luna's light poke through
Paler than the whitest snow tossing in the breeze,
As Luna climbs above the hills to the song of the forest crew.

The children of the night begin
An homage to the Moon
As one by one the lupine kin
Howl, yip, and bay accompanied by a loon.

The Moon hangs high above the hills
As the Wolves assemble in a dell.
On silent wings an owl kills
In a flurry of snow by the well.

The pack moves north on padded paws
Their long snouts catch the scent.
With snarls and slashing fangs and claws
Alpha's prize is soon rent.

Onward through the night the Earth rolls east.
Shades upon the Moonlit plain grow long.
At last against the western rise the moonlight has ceased
And as dawn beckons from the east a final note ends the song.