Dogwolf

I had a name once, stitched on leather red Smelled like houses, smelled like bread Got lost past the fence line where the map went white Where the trees crowd close and swallow light Heard the branches crack like bones in the dark Saw the black shapes, bigger than a park Two of them, breath like rotten caves Bears don’t play, and bears don’t save So I ran ‘til my lungs were fire and salt Ran ‘til my name fell off Just a dog in the woods Just a dog, no good Thought I was dinner, thought I was done Then the howl cut the air like a gun And the bears stopped dead ‘Cause something else said: Run with us Bleed with us You don’t need that name You don’t need that leash You were born with teeth You just forgot how to use ‘em, dogwolf Dogwolf, dogwolf You’re home now Leave the porch light, learn the growl Dogwolf, dogwolf The woods take all of us But we take it back First night I flinched at every sound Second night I slept on the ground Third night I stopped missing the bowl Fourth night I felt it in my soul They taught me the wind, they taught me the signs Where to step, where the deer crosses lines How to move like smoke, how to speak in eyes How to tell a storm from a lie in the skies Alpha put his forehead on mine Said "You were pack, you just crossed the wrong line" Wasn’t born wolf, but I was born wild City just had me tame for a while The bears came back last winter Thought they’d find that same scared thing Instead they found a circle of yellow eyes And me in the middle, learning to sing Run with us Hunt with us You don’t need that yard You don’t need that guard You’ve got claws, you’ve got scars You remembered how to use ‘em, dogwolf Dogwolf, dogwolf You’re home now Trade your bark for the howl Dogwolf, dogwolf The woods gave you to us And we don’t give back Used to be a dog... used to be a dog... One clear howl, joined by the pack dogwolf...