He howled like a dog,
filling the space with sound
to greet the day,
and was startled
when our neighbour howled back.
He flushed,
and grinned
and begged me to howl
and I encouraged him
and yipped a little
but could not find the sound
for bellowing my presence on the land.
A tenderness of leash,
of perceptual unfreedom,
a skittering of ego
on the river ice in spring,
a moose afraid to drown.
Lessons in captivity,
these awkward losses
poignant in their pregnancy.