His Mournful Cry

He stands alone at the top of the hill,
And sings his mournful cry.
His mate and cubs are missing,
He's not certain why.

He had been out hunting,
Was gone for only a day.
And hurried home with empty jaws,
So scarce now was their prey.

He wasn't gone long,
Eager to get home.
But the den was cold and empty,
And he sensed something was wrong.

The smell of man was everywhere,
With footprints in the dirt.
And with blood shed from his family,
He knew they had been hurt.

He sat and waited day by day,
With hopes they would retun.
There wasn't much that he could do,
Except quietly sit and yearn.

Why would man come all this why,
To hunt and shoot them down?
To interupt their quiet lives,
When no harm had been found?

Their Territory plainly marked,
And not once did they stray.
For they would rather stave to death,
Than to get in man's way.

The smell of chickens, cows, and sheep,
Were so tempting at times.
But instincts warned not to hunt them,
Or they would lose their lives.

And so they lived a quiet life,
existing on small game.
Careful it was only wild,
And nothing man had tamed.

So he could find no reason,
For the blood shed on that day.
So peacefully they lived here,
So for out of man's way.

Maybe they'd be coming back,
His cubbies and his mate.
Wolves are mated once for live,
So he would sit and wait.

That was many moons ago,
And they have not come back.
But he will not stop hoping,
For the reunion of his pack.

He now knows men are murderers,
But still does not know why.
And every night he climbs his hill,
And sings his mournful cry.