They are what swim, what fly, what run;
they are the eyes holding firelight
in fear-touched hunger.
They are the plural as single and the one as many;
striped and spotted, feathered and furred,
scaled or catching hair against brambles.
It is what we are, the upright in the bestiary.
We are no more and no less
than these. Amber intelligence
blinks back at me as the eagle
strips her catch from its bones,
daring me closer to wingspan,
hooked talons, razor beak.
I have memorized the calculations
of a great horned owl skimming night silent,
adding the scrape of claw on gravel
and grass to rodent squeaks
into his sum and swallowing it whole.
I sing coyote inked in packs
and running down prey
through woods I say I own.
If I say truth is elemental
then it is: I am no more and no less
than this thing that bleeds and gasps,
caught in the jaws of something larger,
a link in the chain that tethers.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
I sing coyote inked in packs
and running down prey
through woods I say I own….wow…powerful…very cool were you went with this..smiles
Thank you, Claudia!
Very nice bestiary! We are all reanimated stardust, as is everything around us.
Thank you, David. Yes, that is the terrible beauty of it.
I like that we are the upright in the bestiary….but no more or no less than some of the others who are not. Lots of creative thoughts here!
Mary, thank you. Wrote this initially after reading some Sheri Tepper.
I sing coyote inked in packs
and running down prey….really cool…mystery in those lines….and the truth in i am no more or no less….really like those lines…caught int he jaws of something larger…arent we all…smiles.
Thank you, Brian.
They are the plural as single and the one as many;
Very strong and still creative wordplay. I love that 🙂
Thank you, Bjorn.
I love the “Amber intelligence” line. How arrogant we humans are about our intelligence as if other creatures have no intelligence at all. We do no better surviving in their world than many of them do in ours.
Tony, that is so true. I think some species actually do better living in our world that we ever will in theirs.
I sing coyote inked in packs
and running down prey
through woods I say I own….very cool write, Susan.
Thank you, Ayala.
This is a bit chilling and feels raw, but i love the sense of desperation. Quite a mixture of emotions
Thank you, Alan. Kind of difficult to imagine us as links in a food chain, I agree.
Wonderful poem, “no more and no less than”; point well taken by this follower…
Thank you, Lindy.
That’s the way to do it…!
🙂 thanks, Stan!
A strong piece here – sharp and confident, brought elegantly to a conclusion which crowns you message – I enjoyed this…
Thank you, Scott. This one jumped out of my mind all at once.
“They are the eyes holding firelight” – this line stuck with me. I couldn’t get the image out of my head – the eagle staring – Beautiful. The poem feels almost raw (in a good way) because after all – that’s what nature is and should be. 🙂
Thanks so much, Gretchen. It’s all in the eyes.
Susan, a string or pearled words of pure beauty. Great voice.
Henry, thank you so much.
This is a subject I ponder often…. We are so quick to deny the fact that underneath everything, we are animals, and we spend our lives fighting this fact. I love the wildness in this, the owl, the coyote… The beasts in us all.
Yes, exactly, Kelly. We are all animals, even though we try so hard to forget it.
I am no more and no less
than this thing that bleeds and gasps,
caught in the jaws of something larger,
a link in the chain that tethers.
Such a strong ending. I sat with it for quite awhile thinking on it. There’s resolution in the tension it seems. So many great images throughout your piece. Nicely done 🙂
Lori, thank you. I think there is some release here, at the end.
Powerful! Should we sing “all creatures great and small…” and then at the end of it all ask – but what and who determiness smallness…and what if smallness has a creator determined functionality? Energy chains? A call out to anthropomorphism? Great poem, great lines – thought provoking!.
Hi Noel! Agree with all but the anthropomorphism. Our four-legged or winged neighbors have their own gorgeous forms and thoughts. 🙂
exactly what I was trying to get at. But we deny or drown those forms when we impose our human evaluation metrices on them!
Ah, now I am following you, and you are right!
i think we forget that animals are so vital and beautiful and that we are luck to hare the planet with them. vividly drawn.
I think so too, Lucy.
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I’m unable to relate but, the powerhouse of imagery is overwhelmed !
Thanks, Deb!
I enjoy much the musings of our intimate relation to the natural world around us– and how you’ve related them in your words –especially in the 3rd stanza, which for me is the crux of this piece. Nice work ~peace, Jason
Thank you, Jason.
Well said, well written and I love the imagery. So good.
Shanyn, thank you.
Amber intelligence – rich and deep
Beautiful work
Beth, thank you.What I saw in those eyes was rich, wild, and BLAZING. Glad you liked that image.
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