Coyote Comes

Coyote Comes





Big eared scrub runners
winking and rubbing sage brush.
Ever hunters. Their own enemies few.
Like senior legislators
waiting for the righteous dreamers
to tire,
they crouch and scratch,
sniff and whine.

The suburban sprawl
splayed on these overbuilt hills
they cruise like market aisles
feeding on its pets
who arrive like stupid tourists.

With a good rain
mice and rabbits fatten
new coyote litters
that will soon visit trimmed yards
sporting basketball nets
and soft unknowing dogs
or untutored cats,
their owners never imagining
silent killers with spotted backs
on honeyed legs
would devour them
next to some cordless phone,
steady plastic and foolish
on the patio.