Solo Song

A forgotten song

Of Longing and love thought lost

Springs forth from the heart

Gina Lento

Coyote song can evoke many emotions.  One of them can be fear.  There is nothing more surreal than the first time you hear the yips and howls, especially when you hear them just outside your window.  A cold primal fear grips your heart upon being awakened by coyotes. 

I’ll never forgot the first time I heard coyotes, and we were in a neighborhood full of houses.  Not far from the Savannah State Park, but it was surprising.  Your instincts kick in without your being aware that your body knows what to do even though you haven’t been in that situation before.  

It was tough to fall asleep after that.

The primal part of you is on high alert, but the logical, curious side of you wants to peek out the window to see if you can see the coyotes outside.  As much as I wanted to see them, I didn’t venture out of the house until morning.  A six foot fence wasn’t making me feel safe that night.

Once that first experience was done, we’ve heard their songs being sung in other places, like Lake Placid, Florida.  Late Placid, FL, is right in the middle of orange groves and cattle ranches.  It’s sort of like an island in the sea of Florida’s version of a prairie.  There a plenty of coyotes there, you can hear them in the distance at night. 

When you hear a coyote song and you expect to hear it, the song has a different context.  It was that context that inspired me to write the haiku above. The loneliness of a single coyote, or coyotes calling to their mates or pack.  Maybe a love song in the night; a young male seeking young female to start their own pack.

Then, the song tugs at the heart strings.