Saturday, May 19, 2007

Tricksters

I pad
an early morning
urban desert
hard nails clicking
against the bottoms
of quiet concrete canyons.

Crow sees my inattention
swoops down from nowhere
silent until the moment
he whacks me
upside the head
and knocks
my coyote aura askew
with the knuckle
of his big black wing.

Outraged
at being caught out
unawares
by a rival trickster
I bark at him
tell him he is jealous
because it was
my legend
that stole fire
for Kainai and Siksika
in another desert
in the long ago.

He sits silent
on his tree branch
in morning sunlight
where no dog can climb
smooth riverstone eyes
smiling cheekily
black beak
curved in a quiet smirk
that says whatever
my legend did
in the long ago
he for sure
had the drop on me
today
and we laugh together
knowing that it will be
my turn next.

4 comments:

DayDreamer said...

This reminds me of old native legends.

coyote said...

I do draw heavily.

S.L. Corsua said...

Common grounds spark camaraderie. And/or rivalry -- the kind where fun is at hand and is mutual (like here in the case of the coyote and the crow... I can't help but think of the roadrunner, though. *chuckles* Now I've got the "beep, beep" stuck in my head *groan*).

I missed being here. ^_^

coyote said...

Welcome back, soulless.