NIGHT CALLS

In the dark center of the night, coyote calls. Yipping, howling, barks of energetic communion with their pack ... the sound echoes back to me here. I stand under the summer sky, red-tinged Mars overhead, and listen. Tonight, I can hear the pups yipping, too. Imitating their elders in a higher pitch, shorter calls. The whole group is barking at once, like a bunch of Italians after dinner. I feel blessed to hear them, to know they are out there, living wild.