Coyotes

My pup steps to the edge
of the light from our porch
and barks her obbligato
into the huge auditorium
of the winter night. Out there,
critics with yellow eyes,
dressed in snow-sparkled furs,
turn to each other and, without
a sound, curl up their lips.

Copyright © 2002 Ted Kooser All rights reserved
from Northwest Florida Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission