Daniel Wilcox’ most recent poem to appear here was Two Hands (June 2013).

The Pull-Out Coyote
By Daniel Wilcox

Seven cars full of gawkers, so touristy,
Surrounded a rather chubby coyote
Standing still in forested Yosemite.

The excited travelers near Glacier Point
Grouped in the crowded National Park pull-out
Yanked up their cameras and cellphones for shots.

Such roving animals very seldom pause
In attention for us curious humans;
I wondered if this solo wild one here was

Wounded, rabid, dazed and confused, or sicker.
But later, when we stopped to ask a Ranger,
He said, “No, not likely–that’s the sly trickster

Who stands like a furred statue for large handouts.
He’s smarter than your average human vagrant,
You know, the demanding ones by red stop lights

At busy road spots mooching for money.
In contrast, this very cunning coyote
Has picked his eat-stop with parking a plenty,

Lots of room for his so friendly attendants
To pull off the highway with scrumptious treats.”
If this master of the show doffed a Stetson,

We watchers wouldn’t have been at all startled,
But surely expected it from this coyote.
Ever see a critter pull tourists from a hat?