Poem: "Always Out There Waiting"
Apr. 16th, 2024 12:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithBased on an audience poll, this is the free epic for the March 5, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl reaching its $200 goal. It came out of the February 6, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from mama_kestrel, wyld_dandelyon, and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Be Here Now" square in my 2-1-24 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the series Daughters of the Apocalypse.
Warning: Coyote features frank language and mischief.
"Always Out There Waiting"
[0 A.E. to 4 A.E.]
It was the End.
It was the Beginning.
It was exactly the sort of party
that Coyote loved the best of all.
Coyote was always out there waiting,
and Coyote was always hungry.
He wanted to be here now,
for it was sure to be exciting.
So Coyote put on his penis
and hastened to the festivities.
As Coyote was going along, going along,
he saw that the world was quite a mess.
He decided to make some mischief,
for that was his purpose in the world.
All the white-people cities were
burning up like circled wagons.
Coyote had himself a merry dance
all around the ashes of the dying cities.
When the fires went out and rains had come,
then he decided that it was time for fun.
Coyote smelled out the females
that he wanted to make love with.
There was the beautiful maiden
with long silky hair who ran like a deer.
There was the beautiful maiden
with short curly hair who swam like a fish.
There was the beautiful maiden
with sleek golden hair who dug like a gopher.
There was the beautiful maiden
with shaggy gray hair who sang like a bird.
Coyote made love to all of the maidens
and left them in the family way.
He was expanding his horizons
and he was very good at that.
As he was going along, going along,
he feasted on everything he found.
Coyote feasted on rabbits and deer.
He feasted on mice and birds.
He feasted on fruits and vegetables.
He feasted on insects and even garbage.
Coyote wasn't terribly picky about what he ate.
That was part of what made him Coyote.
He could eat just about anything and survive.
He could live in almost any environment.
As Coyote was going along, going along,
he saw what the two-legs were doing.
They were digging up old religions
like bones from the cache of a kill.
They dug up things from Africa
and they dug up things from Asia.
They dug up old Christian things
and they dug up old Pagan things.
So Coyote decided to have some fun
with the two-legs and their religions.
He would make some Sacred Clowns!
That was always good for a laugh.
He found a red woman, which was
easy because she knew him.
He found a yellow woman, which was
harder because she did not know him.
He found a brown woman, who was
almost-kinda-sorta related.
He had to hunt a long, long time
before he found a white woman.
That was a little weird. White people
had been everywhere and now were few.
By then, Coyote had been going along,
going along, for a good four years.
He was good and tired. Even
his penis was good and tired.
So Coyote dug himself a den
and stuffed it full of soft warm things.
He curled up in his den with his fluffy tail
draped over his wet nose and went to sleep.
Coyote would take a nap for four years.
Then he would see what needed more mischief.
* * *
Notes:
"Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry."
-- Navajo Proverb
Coyotes are ubiquitous, although the smaller and shyer wild types often don't compete well against the bigger, bolder, packs of hybrids. The latter go by many names including coydog, coywolf, and among scientists "canis soup." They are often a mix of coyote, wolf, and dog but the dominant strain varies from place to place. The smaller they are, though, the more resistant to the Grunge and the less food they need, so the wild-type coyotes do better in ruined cities and deserts. Coyotes are among the few species whose range actually expanded as humans wiped out their main competitors, the wolves. They have adapted their diet as their range expanded by 40% in the last 120 years, even into urban areas.
Sacred clowns such as the heyoka are common in tribal cultures. They are closely related to Trickster figures, including Coyote.
The phrase "going along, going along" appears in many Coyote stories as a translation where many Native American languages have a verb tense for ongoing or habitual actions. It also matches the tireless pace of a coyote roaming about in search of prey.
There are many stories about Coyote beginning with words such as "Coyote was going along and he was very hungry" or "Coyote was going along, as usual, looking for some food".
In some Coyote stories, he can take off his penis and put it in a box, or send it away on errands.
The Saluki is a sighthound adapted to desert climates, originally used for hunting gazelles and other fleet prey. They are renowned for their elegant frame and long, silky hair.
The American water spaniel is a hardy retriever suited to aquatic and upland hunting in cold climates. They have a compact frame with a curly black or brown coat.
The Cherokee cur is a lean yellow dog with tall pointed ears, well adapted to the hot wet southeast where it originated. Some accompanied the Cherokee out west as well.
The gray wolf is a large, muscular predator with wide pointed ears. The coat is often gray but can be any shade of black, white, or brown.
Coyotes cache food and sometimes other things.
mama_kestrel, wyld_dandelyon, and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Be Here Now" square in my 2-1-24 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the series Daughters of the Apocalypse.Warning: Coyote features frank language and mischief.
"Always Out There Waiting"
[0 A.E. to 4 A.E.]
It was the End.
It was the Beginning.
It was exactly the sort of party
that Coyote loved the best of all.
Coyote was always out there waiting,
and Coyote was always hungry.
He wanted to be here now,
for it was sure to be exciting.
So Coyote put on his penis
and hastened to the festivities.
As Coyote was going along, going along,
he saw that the world was quite a mess.
He decided to make some mischief,
for that was his purpose in the world.
All the white-people cities were
burning up like circled wagons.
Coyote had himself a merry dance
all around the ashes of the dying cities.
When the fires went out and rains had come,
then he decided that it was time for fun.
Coyote smelled out the females
that he wanted to make love with.
There was the beautiful maiden
with long silky hair who ran like a deer.
There was the beautiful maiden
with short curly hair who swam like a fish.
There was the beautiful maiden
with sleek golden hair who dug like a gopher.
There was the beautiful maiden
with shaggy gray hair who sang like a bird.
Coyote made love to all of the maidens
and left them in the family way.
He was expanding his horizons
and he was very good at that.
As he was going along, going along,
he feasted on everything he found.
Coyote feasted on rabbits and deer.
He feasted on mice and birds.
He feasted on fruits and vegetables.
He feasted on insects and even garbage.
Coyote wasn't terribly picky about what he ate.
That was part of what made him Coyote.
He could eat just about anything and survive.
He could live in almost any environment.
As Coyote was going along, going along,
he saw what the two-legs were doing.
They were digging up old religions
like bones from the cache of a kill.
They dug up things from Africa
and they dug up things from Asia.
They dug up old Christian things
and they dug up old Pagan things.
So Coyote decided to have some fun
with the two-legs and their religions.
He would make some Sacred Clowns!
That was always good for a laugh.
He found a red woman, which was
easy because she knew him.
He found a yellow woman, which was
harder because she did not know him.
He found a brown woman, who was
almost-kinda-sorta related.
He had to hunt a long, long time
before he found a white woman.
That was a little weird. White people
had been everywhere and now were few.
By then, Coyote had been going along,
going along, for a good four years.
He was good and tired. Even
his penis was good and tired.
So Coyote dug himself a den
and stuffed it full of soft warm things.
He curled up in his den with his fluffy tail
draped over his wet nose and went to sleep.
Coyote would take a nap for four years.
Then he would see what needed more mischief.
* * *
Notes:
"Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry."
-- Navajo Proverb
Coyotes are ubiquitous, although the smaller and shyer wild types often don't compete well against the bigger, bolder, packs of hybrids. The latter go by many names including coydog, coywolf, and among scientists "canis soup." They are often a mix of coyote, wolf, and dog but the dominant strain varies from place to place. The smaller they are, though, the more resistant to the Grunge and the less food they need, so the wild-type coyotes do better in ruined cities and deserts. Coyotes are among the few species whose range actually expanded as humans wiped out their main competitors, the wolves. They have adapted their diet as their range expanded by 40% in the last 120 years, even into urban areas.
Sacred clowns such as the heyoka are common in tribal cultures. They are closely related to Trickster figures, including Coyote.
The phrase "going along, going along" appears in many Coyote stories as a translation where many Native American languages have a verb tense for ongoing or habitual actions. It also matches the tireless pace of a coyote roaming about in search of prey.
There are many stories about Coyote beginning with words such as "Coyote was going along and he was very hungry" or "Coyote was going along, as usual, looking for some food".
In some Coyote stories, he can take off his penis and put it in a box, or send it away on errands.
The Saluki is a sighthound adapted to desert climates, originally used for hunting gazelles and other fleet prey. They are renowned for their elegant frame and long, silky hair.
The American water spaniel is a hardy retriever suited to aquatic and upland hunting in cold climates. They have a compact frame with a curly black or brown coat.
The Cherokee cur is a lean yellow dog with tall pointed ears, well adapted to the hot wet southeast where it originated. Some accompanied the Cherokee out west as well.
The gray wolf is a large, muscular predator with wide pointed ears. The coat is often gray but can be any shade of black, white, or brown.
Coyotes cache food and sometimes other things.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-04-20 10:14 pm (UTC)Oh! Like the 'habitual be' in AAVE -- Coyote be going along. It's a really useful linguistic thinger.
Yes ...
Date: 2024-04-22 09:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-07-16 11:01 pm (UTC)So does my native dialect, which is closer to AAVE than anyone wants to admit.
Yes ...
Date: 2024-07-17 01:13 am (UTC)Southern and blue-collar accents picked up a LOT from African languages.
And the country-western clothing style that people now think of as so white? Is about half black fieldhand (most of the practical parts) and half Mexican (most of the fancy-dancy parts). Hilarious.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2024-07-26 11:51 pm (UTC)Also the food. Country Creole, which is what I grew up eating, is a mix of African, Native American, French, and Spanish. Add in the German and Irish, and you get food that is very tasty, very filling, and makes the most of what you have.