Based on the reintroduction of wolves into some select wilderness areas:

In the Valley of the Wolf
by Michael Romani

In a mixed experiment
Between purpose and accident
There is a blend
On which side it might depend
One side, fear and mythology
One part, a dream of biology
The wolves were allowed freedom
In places where people had seldom seen 'em
For a time span of generations
Despite a feeling of veneration
For these mystical beasts of dreams
There was a feeling of awe and fear under moon beams
Canis lupus are often seen as solitary
But, actually are quite social to the contrary

The family pack gathers at their riparian home
Where at the calm center they are not alone
Faces turned toward sky they sing
Resonant in harmony, content with what they bring
Each knowing their reason of place
In the hierarchy of the pack's space
The howling tapers off to where it began
In all the moonlit paths they had ran
The chorus shows its personality
As the valley echoes in its harmony
The alpha's voice raises above the chatter
Reassuring the pack of how each member matters
Creatures of the cold, emerging from shadow
Touching noses, pressing shoulders each knows

As they circle each other in meeting
Each genuflecting in diffident greeting
Stolen moments on this winter's day
Wisps of clouds blow the stars into play
Blue brings in this frigid night
Here in the clearing, all is right
Knowing each other at the edge of secrecy
Gathered together in assembly and as family
Coming together for reasons known only to them
These children of the night and of discipline
Thiers is a sacred privilege to become witness
The spiritual embodiment of lost connections
Here in bring these wolves to ancestral home
We humans finally recognize that we are not alone

(c) November 12, 2018  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved