Sheepdog Tanka

To deny nature
is only nature deferred,
waiting for release.
The wolf is hungry for lamb
and the dog doesn’t care why.

A wolf among sheep
finds his natural desire
for flesh in his teeth,
met by the teeth of the dog
who eats neither wolf nor sheep.

The confused actor,
who knows the lines, hits the mark,
certain of his role,
in the wrong play, the wrong stage,
bows for applause in his head.

Dogs never feel used.
Even used up and useless,
he guards his charges,
Thinking you are loved for that,
is just a sheepdog’s conceit.