Bobcat moves stealthily down hill
into crevice of boulder’s cleavage
places paw over smooth rock
stalks ground squirrel and gopher
stub tail, white-tipped black
twitches in the hunt
he stakes out his kingdom
Coyote howls her background reprise
across the channels of same canyon
Howls to the tribe
a maudlin song on desert wind
they echo answers in return
maybe another inexact question
Behind my wall of windows
I move back and forth
ritual of morning housework
Between backyard branches
a regiment of quail mirrors my anxious order
Woods awakens in prayer
chanting natural religion
while I dust volumes of scriptures
boulder-solid answers
to such ambiguous, untamed questions
