I.
Well
he's back.
Last night
I dreamt about
coconut trees
and warm wind
on a lanai
of banana branches.
Somewhere
in my island murmuring
he was there.
Out of place,
mind you,
that old Coyote
he gets around.
Did you know
he could swim?
I saw his dark eyes
watching
in a silent space
behind the palm leaves
and trade winds
in my hair
pressing at the catalayas
sweet behind my ear.
When I awoke
2 glowing eyes in the darkness
outside my sliding
glass door.
I was Pele
in my dream
so invited him in
this burning inside
Coyote and his eyes
at war
with my insides.
II.
In the frozen dark
two eyes glowing
at the silent space
of my sliding glass door.
His breath appears
spreading
fading
spreading
his breath
following mine.
By the light of the darkest night
of the year
I move up from the warmth
of my bed,
reach across the wood
floor upon padded silence
and push open,
his fur
brushes the hem
of my nightshirt
touching my ankles
like butterfly wings.
I return to the warmth
under the blue blanket of stars
his nose cold
upon my cheek
and in my dreams
I am smiling
but in my sleep
I am not.
Coyote
a distant space between us
his hair
upon my breasts
the scent of hothouse chickens
upon my lips.
III.
I woke this morning
the sun had barely
reached beyond
the fire tipped clouds.
My bed was warm
the air around me — cold.
I rose, shut the door,
moving back under the star quilt,
feeling the warm space
Coyote had occupied
now cold
and touched the hothouse blood
still warm
upon the narrow
imprint
of his lips.
About the Author:Carolyn Dunn is a Native American writer, anthologist, musician, and academic whose poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She serves on the board of directors for Red Nation Celebration, a California non–profit organization that produces media events to raise money and awareness for American Indian issues and concerns surrounding children and elders across Native America.
Copyright © 2002 by Carolyn Dunn. The poem first appeared in Outfoxing Coyote, published by Aunt Lute Books. It may not be reproduced in any form without the author’s express written permission.