Theia

Epitaph To A Yearling Wolf.

Once Earth and Moon were one,
Til Theia came and did them part.
Many forgot but the Wolf did not,
And howled his psalm after lost Luna’s heart.

Her name was Theia.
‘Twas a yearling she was.
Her coat white and gray,
A stray tutelary of Selene.
She coursed with her pack,
Over the hills and back,
‘Neath an ice-chipped sky more sacred
      than the Sistine.

How it happened, I don’t know.
‘Twas February ‘neath a waning Snow Moon,
When Earth did her best to change her dress,
And match her sister’s regal regolith dunes.

As she spied the buck,
The ranchman spied her too,
Over the icy glades he gave her chase,
And whacked her in the shade of Cora Butte.

Her name was Theia.
‘Twas a yearling she was,
When the tape was twisted round her snout,
Imprisoned in cruel Cernunnos' name.
The ranchman dragged her back to town,
Upon the barfloor he threw her down,
While he shocked her neck and smooched her nose
      bereft of manly shame.

The rude crowd scorned her,
While her captor shouted the bar,
In the corner she lay while the ranchman brayed,
Awaiting her judgment from Man’s envenomed heart.

Her name was Theia.
‘Twas a yearling she was,
When the ranchman posed her for a picture,
To capture her soul on Polaroid roll.
She knew not why,
He wouldn't let her die,
And kept her broken legs bound 
      in pained ligature.

Out the window she saw the maria-
Imbrium, Crisium, Nectaris, Frigoris,
In her eyes the goddess shined,
And cast back a doleful Mare Doloris.

When the night was at its end,
He took her out again,
To an alley rank with beer and piss.
The gunmetal shined, but old Luna outshined,
And the ranchman finally gave her the leaden gift.

Her name was Theia.
‘Twas a yearling she was,
When the ranchman spied her too...

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Postscript: This poem was written in gut-reaction to the slaying of a young wolf named Theia on February 29, 2024 by a Wyoming trucker named Cody Roberts. Roberts found Theia in the wild and ran her over with his snowmobile- a wolf-killing practice known as “whacking” which is entirely legal in the state of Wyoming- before proceeding to tape her mouth shut, tie a shock collar round her neck, and drive her to the Green River Bar in the town of Daniel for the amusement of the bar patrons while she slowly bled to death internally. After he had his fun, Roberts took Theia behind the bar and shot her.

For this sin, which was documented in numerous videos and photographs, including several of Roberts gleefully posing with his “catch”, Roberts paid a $250 fine for “unlawful possession of wildlife”. Presently he has been indicted for felony animal cruelty and is awaiting trial. More information can be found here, here, and here.

May Theia’s soul bay eternally to her beloved Moon from the high hills of Heaven.

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A.I. Disclaimer: This poem was entirely human-written. However, the cover art is a collage of stock photos with an A.I. effect blended into the final composition.