The Coyote

He steps into the street and wavers

Mangy, matted, alone

We make eye contact

I reach toward him to touch his fear

and he is gone

Back into the tall grass where he will huddle 'til nightfall

Scared and pack less he waits for death

As I drove my usual route to work today I ran into a detour. The road I normally take is closed for repaving so I take a right and head for the highway. As I come around a bend in the road a coyote, he's in bad shape and it takes a moment to register what I'm looking at, steps out from the grassy open space and stands in front of my car stunned by the traffic. We make eye contact for a moment and my heart cracks with overwhelming sadness. Tears roll down my face as I head toward the next class I am scheduled to teach. Once more I find myself engaged in a one person conversation about what just happened. I must get it together in order to be there for my students, yet the helplessness I feel for not being able to help another creature in pain lingers. Then I remember a quote I read recently,

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." ~Philo of Alexandria  

And so my day marches on.