Screaming Like Dogs

Let me grip the spinning earth in curled toes
Soft soil, crumbly when dry
Sticky when wet
Let it clump or fall away as it pleases
Save me from sharp stones underfoot
Let the pebbles be the smooth gifts I hold in my hands
So I may run free
Wild
Unashamed
Soil-stained, scratched bloody,
Wide-eyed with wonder
And a fear that never stops me

Feet for the solid planet beneath me
Hands for the companion life on its surface
Keeping my mouth free
For howling under the moon that lights my way
Over dew and leaves
Calling my pack to my side

May we always run together
Screaming like dogs
Hunting for our lives
Hunting on this savage earth
Until we return to it
One at a time
As others take our places

Let those who come after
Run even more free
More wild
More unashamed
Than our time has allowed us

.

July 20, 2025