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Monday, June 25, 2012

Coyote Blood Orgy (Sunday Night)

Every night
sometimes early,
sometime late,
the ritual begins with
a single ominous yelp,
then builds to a chorus
of cruel mockery,
a rapacious death chant.

At the center
of this spectacle,
a stray dog
unfortunate housecat,
or a field rabbit
cowers,
eyes darting,
calculating the
inevitable conclusion,
as this pitiless pack
savors this moment
of anticipation.

Circling and taunting
their prey,
it resembles
an amoral schoolyard,
as the wailing swirls
overhead,
and their bacchanal
of chaos and viciousness
echoes across the valley.

The macabre singing
of the band rises
as the terrified victim
sees his last moment
of life
approach
and
leave.

Just as quickly
as it started,
a lone cry signals
the end of the savagery.

It is both
sinister and banal.

Then the
coyote blood orgy
becomes eerily silent,

not from guilt
but rather
temporary satiety.

(audio of coyote - turn up your speakers)

(Posted for #OpenLinkNight at http://dversepoets.com/ - come on and post your poem!)

36 comments:

  1. Serious goose-bumps! Well-written! Love your sinister descriptions/phrases.

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  2. Thanks - I added a YouTube video with audio of what I tried to capture. Yes, it's pretty scary to hear.

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  3. *shiver*

    I like coyotes, but not like this. The terror of the poor encircled one breaks my heart.

    I ran into a coyote when I was out walking, once. He was only a half mile from downtown, standing next to a dumpster, howling. He was so big, I thought at first he was a wolf, but there are no wolves here. It crossed my mind that maybe this was a female, and someone had tossed her babies in there. It was so odd...middle of a Sunday afternoon, howling like that, and just standing there. At first I though I was in trouble cos this was a BIG animal. Clearly wild, from the dirty coat and so forth. But he (or she) just watched me and stayed there to howl. There was no one but me around. It was odd.

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    1. I'm always amazed at the interactions we civilized people have with uncivilized animals. Something about them keeps us in our proper place. Thanks.

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    2. Thank goodness you were safe! How scary.

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  4. Very eerie sounds. I listened to the video after reading your poem. We've got coyotes around here, but I have never heard anything like it.

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    1. Yes, and they were in full force last night. Scary.

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  5. Oh, this is way cool!

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    1. For you, this is such a compliment! Thanks.

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  6. "it resembles
    an amoral schoolyard,
    as the wailing swirls
    overhead," chilling and sadly like too many school yards...the viciousness. But coyotes have to eat, people don't have to be cruel...still, they are.

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    1. Thanks, put another way: they coyotes don't know any better, people do.

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  7. brutally entrancing, nicely done!

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  8. this def made me shiver...sounds in the night make our minds wander as to what is really going on...and their cessation though is not mistook, for now they are are temporarily sated....makes for an interesting metaphor as well...

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  9. Thanks, Brian. Yes, there's no mistaking what's happening. Perhaps all this is encoded in us as well - evolutionarily speaking. Perhaps that's why the cruelty persists.

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  10. Oh, I do like coyotes but, (unless) we enjoy the killing, I hate to think of the other creatures being torn to pieces by them. The screams would haunt me.
    This is haunting in its truth, only the strong survive and it is the way of all things. But, I am pretty squeamish when it comes to animals being killed. Very good writing, captured the fear, the predators victory. Yuck! LOL

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    1. Thanks, yes it is horrifying to hear. Last night we heard it again and my wife and daughter covered their ears.

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  11. oh heck...goosebumps...and i was thinking about some scenes you could copy and paste this to..not coyotes but people that act kinda like coyotes...tight piece mosk!

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    1. Thanks, yes sometimes I'd prefer people to act like jackasses.

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  12. Anonymous1:53 PM

    U sure get down to the nitty gritty of survival of the fittest in this piece...it's tragic...that the housecat, or whatever tame animal is in the way of coyote hunger must be the victim, but such is the heirarchy. It's also a reminder to me, at least, that we are infringing on coyote habitat, and thus we become witness to this fight for survival. Interesting piece!

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    1. Thanks, and that's one of the many reasons my Yorkies don't stay out at night!

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  13. Love this, Buddah Moskowitz...we hear them often round these parts, and have actual bounties for their pelts...(don't get me started on that) This piece brings that same haunting, eerie quality of their voices, the impression that the veil has thined and for a moment we can see through their eyes...a world where they come to us for sustenance...because it is us who are destroying their natural habitats...whoops...I'm about to go all preachy up in here...loved it (but then I always do!)

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    1. That's ok, preach! Bounties for their pelts? Yeech. Thanks for the kind words.

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  14. Nothing sounds like coyotes--though I've never heard wolves--and there is all the cold grue of the wild in them that doesn't give a flip about anything but the next meal in a life where meals are never certain. You invest this with drama and horror.

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    1. Thanks, but it was pure reportage. It sounds like drama and horror!

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  15. Supreme eeriness.

    Also, majorly awesome title.

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  16. Scary and creepy sounds ~ Your words though were good enough for me ~

    Thanks for sharing ~

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    1. It is a freakish sounding thing. Thanks.

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  17. And that is why my cats are "indoor" pets!! Saw my first coyote last fall, about 2 miles up the road from where we live. I knew they were around but had never seen one before. They just do what comes naturally to them, but sometimes nature encroaches just a little too close to home!

    Enjoyed your poem, nature isn't always "pretty" but it is pretty amazing.

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  18. You better believe it! Keep those cats indoors! Thanks!

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  19. Wow, this rocked my world. Totally awesome. Love the title. Love the closing:

    "Then the
    coyote blood orgy
    becomes eerily silent,

    not from guilt
    but rather
    temporary satiety"

    And all the ripping and grinding of teeth in between.

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  20. Nature can be cruel but it's the way of the world. A solid descriptive piece with no sugar-coating. Awesome.

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  21. Yes, well done, Mosk -- as Zouxzoux said! You've captured the gritty savage, primitiveness beautifully. (And this is as close as I'd care to get to the "real thing"!) :-]

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  22. you paint this scene in brutal truths. eery-sounding.

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  23. i live in the desert, and coyotes are all around. one was injured once, both back legs broken. he dragged himself up into the hills, and my dog got into a fight with him. he has a scar till now, but did not kill the coyote. i had to ask a friend to come and shoot him in the head, cuz i felt so bad for the pain and suffering and starting he was doing out there.

    i can't stand them. they are chilling!!


    done for

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