The coyotes cry
and their voices
pierce the darkened
mountain side
the ritual starts
a single ominous yelp
then builds to a chorus
of cruel mockery
an evil cacophony
as they laugh to each other
and howl to their god
like undomesticated teenagers
in a tribal netherworld
and at the center
of this macabre
spectacle
cowers
a stray dog
or unfortunate housecat
howling a final plea
eyes darting faster
than its beating heart
racing to the inevitability
of this conclusion
as these pitiless brutish
thugs savor
their bloody orgy
the chilling wail swirls
overhead
and is heard
through the valley
a bacchanal of instinct
viciousness and survival
between the orgiastic shrieks
of the attacker
and the final whimper of the hunted
there is nothing
but chaos and carnage
and then just as quickly
a lone cry signals
the end of the savagery
eerily silent
as the circle of life
slowly feeds itself.