In, Not Of

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IN, NOT OF


Increasingly less stirring, this call 

to contribute our sticks to the mix

to help beat back the wolves, 


or even, from the other side 

of the pulpit, to flip them over 

as staffs and walk the way of the pack


until we can speak wolf, 

at which point we can begin—

both in and outside the pen—


to reform them into sheep. 

By all means, if you can take this route

and stem the slow formation 


of a snout, (your baa obtaining, even now, 

the hint of a howl,) keep the course. 

I’d just ask you be a tad less 


coarse in your remonstrance 

of those who increasingly find 

such discourse to be a bit, well, 


wooly, deciding instead to hoof it 

the way of the little pig and build a good

brick house to lock the wolves out


when they come knocking, even,

yes, if they might yet be redeemed. 

And who knows: the scent


of a really good stew has even been known 

to turn a wolf or two, wondering 

why they ever settled for an economy 


as bankrupt as teeth when such a feast 

might be sipped for free

at the tip of a wooden spoon. 

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