Herd

by Jared Harél

I heard a great howling
and lost my herd.
We were together, here
in the clearing. Then we weren’t.

It was just me, and up ahead,
a few enormous birds
pecked apart a relative of mine.
Fine. I barely knew her,

but what of the others
I considered real pals? Hard
not to have hard feelings
about that. I felt light–headed.

My innards moaned
for food and water as I wandered
the dry, deserted world
before me. That was before

I met you. Before
you appeared and mattered.
Before either of us had uttered
a single, ridiculous word.