When the Coyote Comes

Midnight in the yard A dog begins to bark The next-door neighbor Shuts her kitchen blinds Up on the moonlit rise Joe-Jack sleeps outside On an old gunnysack Filled with soda cans Out across the lawn 2 cats have their fun Epi and Lou on the slippery grass They tumble and jump in a crazy dance Look up at the stars like they're in a trance Climb the willow tree Epi and Louie freeze They don't blink or breathe A sudden danger In the atmosphere Walking down the road Sniffing as he goes An old coyote His eyes are yellow green Trickster on the prowl Throws back his head and howls The night heats up when the coyote comes He won't rest till his work is done Critters flee when he comes around Some won't make it home Life is never what it seems Pull me from this waking dream I should have come inside So much guilt, so much regret Don't let my life be over Let me come inside I wanna come inside Epi and Lou run across the yard They look to the window but it's much too far They turn and race for the broken car Barely make it in The night heats up when the coyote comes He won't rest till his work is done Every critter flees when he comes around Some won't make it home