Coywolf is . . . poem by Honey Novick

 

Coywolf is...

You, me, Canadian, hybrid,

underrated, a real thing, google it

one hot, dark night appearing before me

alone, on the road of a Toronto street

a coywolf

larger than a coyote, smaller than a grey wolf

staring at each other, in surprise and wonder

me, protected in a car, it, fearless

sauntered off into the bushes

coywolf, to me, is a mystical emissary

reminding me to stop,

become aware of other living forces like

hybrids

in this world there are many adaptable, cunning creatures

survivors, smart and beautiful, not aggressive

like me and like me, from mid-eastern Canada

my ancestry is North African, European, Palestinian, Israeli,

and now Canadian, Torontonian – Toronton-I-AM

I, too, am a hybrid

we are adaptable survivors,

bringing one culture and melding it to another

I had never seen, heard nor been aware of these canid dogs

until one stopped me on the road

this one was beautiful, sleek,

emerging when needed, reminding me of all my relations

adaptable

non-threatening

in a world of rapid change

almost invisible, mystical signs appear

reminding me

people see what we want to see

and be who we want to be

A FRIEND

but not being too friendly with a coywolf

Honey Novick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Captive-bred F₁ gray wolf × coyote hybrids, Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minnesota

A coywolf is a canid hybrid descended from coyotes (Canis latrans), eastern wolves (Canis lycaon), gray wolves (Canis lupus)