Walking Separately

This part of me walks separately
A dog on a leash
straining for freedom
Wanting to catch a rabbit
with absolutely no idea
of what to do with one

So reach down and unsnap
I'll take off through the bushes
ears flying and bounding
Picking up brambles
that you can pick out later
if you've any patience left

Maybe I'll run all night
howling at the moon
to climb the silvered hills
Swim creeks and scramble
up the muddy banks
Screaming with the pack

There's wildness in me
Wildness in us all
A need beyond the supper dish
Cozying in your lap
Snoozing afternoons
and these leashed walks

I'll be home in a day or two
or maybe ten or maybe not
It's that way
with domesticated breeds
They seem so much at ease
but part of them walks separately