Unfinished Poem, version 2

Waking to weariness,

I am the calf who stumbles

        downwind to the wolf’s den.

Sweet welcome,

      sweet rendering.

But on the other side

      I’ll be the steaming rush of piss that marks

              the boundary between alpha and beta.

      I’ll be top

              dog, my teeth the best provider.

By afternoon, as rancher

      my steel cheeks spit lead

                at wolf, at coyote

                      at borders.

By evening, I’ll lie down as

      the rancher’s cow and

                the grass underfoot.

Before you dismiss me.

Think

Who am I tonight?

The rancher,

the calf,

the grass underfoot

or the wolf and the word

that will bring you screaming down to earth.