An icy wind
Roars through the pines
In a dome of stars
A halfmoon shines
The world is painted
Black and chrome
A lone pup tracks
His long way home
A trial, a test
Of his rebirth
To prove his strength
And prove his worth
He hears the halfmoon
Call his name
He feels the fire
Rise in his veins
He must be strong
He must resist
He must endure
He must persist
A beast strikes
From in the black
A great force throws him
To his back
Claws and teeth
And matted hair
Stale breath steams
In frozen air
Rangy, ravenous
Twice his size
A great, grey wolf
With amber eyes
He grits his teeth
And scrambles back
Too slow, the wolf
Makes to attack
Hanging high
In darkened skies
The halfmoon calls
And the blood replies
He feels it stir
The beast within
Two wolves meet
Only one can win
His senses flare
His muscles grow
He rolls and leaps
As light as snow
Run to home
Run to his kin
Run from the wolf
And the wolf within
He feels it burning
Feels it rise
The halfmoon calls
And his blood replies
Through flight the fight
Turns now within
He must defy
Must not give in
A dagger made
Of flint and bough
He grips it tight
To disavow
Bare feet twist
In drifts of snow
His stance is wide
His breath is slow
His hands and feet
Belong to him
Not paw nor claw
Of the wolf within
And so he turns
His back to home
To face the beast
With branch and stone
It prowls the night
Its eyes aglow
As the moon above
So the wolf below
They fly into motion
With fury and fire
Clashing and parting
With fear and desire
The world shrinks down
To strength and to skill
They pass nose to nose
And time seems to still
He stares into its eyes
As they pass, fur to skin
Just him and the beast
And the secrets within
He looks into its soul
And feels its pain
And in an instant he knows
They are one and the same
But the moment passes
As snow in the palm
And the rush of battle
Flows into the calm
A wild thrust
And snap of teeth
A swipe of claws
He ducks beneath
With a frenzied cry
And blade gripped tight
He leaps, he strikes
With all his might
His aim is true
Flesh rips apart
He drives it down
And through its heart
An icy wind
Roars through the pines
In a dome of stars
A halfmoon shines
The world is painted
Black and chrome
A lone wolf tracks
His long way home
A cloak of fur
In matted grey
On shoulders proud
He makes his way
He hears the halfmoon
Call his name
He feels the fire
Rise in his veins
He spreads his arms
And head raised high
He howls defiance
To the sky
A trial, a test
Of his rebirth
He proved his strength
And proved his worth
Endured the ice
And crushed the beast
Returned triumphant
To kin and feast
Now with his pack
The stars they roam
To fight great battles
Far from home
Mutants vanquished
Witches slain
And monsters crushed
And sliced in twain
But no matter the war
How strong the foe
How epic the deed
Or how far they go
Still a part of him
Will always be
Beneath that halfmoon
Running free
He thinks to himself
With a bitter grin
That the greatest fight
Is the wolf within
As recited by Skald Magni Greyclaw at the Feast of Becoming.
About the Author
Jennie works as a software engineer. She lives with her partner and her dog, Fox, and spends her time drinking tea, reading too many books and painting models which she posts about on twitter.
