When I was much younger, my skin was delicate
My eyes were brighter as they observed
Already tarnished hide despite the age
Yet our teachers feared your teeth and claws
Somehow, I admired those glossy fangs
That unveiled themselves at the other children
Desks were not fit for canine bodies
Nor were schools made for animals
You tore yourself apart in front of me,
Mauling the gut, the liver, the mind
You were a frightening, arcane beast
You were my best friend
A starving thing, I'd come to realize as
Time washed over the both of us
Our conversations faded as both our paths
Crossed into the no man's land of adolescence
The sound of your howl grew distance until it, too, blended into the incessant rhythm of life
I met a wolf at the store
Picture the face of adulthood officially embedded into the wheel of life
Growth and maturity, the aftermath, displayed
Nostalgic eyes that lost their viciousness, replaced by-
Uneasiness? Fear?
Disheveled, long fur
I barely recognized you
Your bark told all I needed to know
It's softer, now
As my mind now wonders to your question
Muttered long ago, one that echoes
When my bed grows uncomfortably cold
No matter,
To see you eased my worries
And helped me believe in wolves again
