The Old Wolf
Deep in the Wolfwood, where only the daring go,
I heard whisper of a great tree, that only our Grandfathers know!
Though the path was winding, though the wolves did gather,
I set forth on an adventure, to find the truth of the matter!
For there's only one place you can hear,
All that Grandfather Wolf holds dear!
There's only one place you can see,
What the wolves do when they're wild and free!
There's only one place I care to be,
In the boughs of Grandfather Tree!
Over rivers and under trees, the path wound through history,
Dead Hawks in empty castles, dark men burned in scores,
All the enemies of the wolf had fallen into their maws!
But through it all I did finally see,
The stately figure of Grandfather Tree!
High I did climb, into his mighty branches,
Surely, I thought, I would find here my answers!
What secrets does Grandfather Wolf know?
After all his grand hunts, where next does he plan to go?
For there's only one place you can hear,
All that Grandfather Wolf holds dear!
There's only one place you can see,
What the wolves do when they're wild and free!
There's only one place I care to be,
In the boughs of Grandfather Tree!
Night fell fast as I clung to the branches,
from my secret place I did listen as the wolves gathered with their master.
I heard a voice, sickly sweet, howl out from beneath:
"Hear me now, my moon kissed brothers; I am a wolf like no other!"
"I am the great hunter you know as Grandfather."
"Hear me now as I make my decree: it is time to be done with the forest and the trees!"
"I'm tired of the prowling, no more being free! There's a whole world of man and it's all I care to see."
"I'm tired of the hunt, my schemes and my tricks, I'd rather howl for the humans that gave me a crown!"
There was a silence there after, then it was filled with laughter,
The Grandfather, once respected, was roundly rejected!
For there's only one place you can hear,
An Old Wolf's shuddering despair!
There's only one place you can see,
The last gasps of a has been!
There's only one place I care to be;
In the boughs of Grandfather Tree!
Desperately curious I peered down from my perch,
Scores of wolves gathered below around a gilt throne!
There sat our Grandfather, bloated and alone.
Fur once so majestic had grown thin and mangy,
Tail all twisted and teeth terribly mangled.
Like a man he did sit, oh what a sight to see!
I could hardly believe it was a wolf before me.
No, the truth was clear, even though I was not near!
The Grandfather was wolf no more,
He had become a Grandfather Boar!
For there's only one place you can hear,
An Old Wolf's end come near!
There's only one place you can see,
The death of a fat wolf's dignity!
There's only one place I care to be,
In the boughs of Grandfather Tree!
To the circle then came an outsider,
Her pelt dark and sleek, her yellow eyes the Grandfather's did meet!
"You were once a great beast that called no man master, but your time is now gone and you seed nought but disaster."
"With ash on the winds and fires on the rise, it's time, once great beast, that you opened your eyes:"
"Fat and feeble you've grown, so I claim these woods for my own."
"Grandfather Boar you are wolf no more."
"Only my prey. Dead if you choose to stay!"
For there's only one place you can hear,
Grandfather Wolf's dying whimpers!
There's only one place you can see,
What becomes of those that stop living free!
There's only one place I care to be,
Under the boughs of Grandfather Tree!