The pack will walk on. Comments appreciated!

A troubled journey from cub to queen,
years of fighting to earn and keep
a place that she did not inherit
In the dead of the night, quiet as death.
Here rises the sound of a she-wolf’s breath.

She ran with the pack first but now
they run with her, and never once
did she think ahead to what happens
if she simply just couldn’t run anymore.
They sit with her.

The night’s cold, leaves rustling in the wind
sky of celestial twinkles with a moon
that can’t be seen.
A hundred golden orbs burnt her pelt
They look at her.

The she-wolf whines, lying limp
on the lifeless grass, pelt scarred with age
and experience, glossy sheen long lost
but her eyes are no less bright than before.
They whine with her.

Meeting her children’s gaze she wondered
wondered not if they’d fight but rather
who would win and take her place
She lets loose a commanding growl.
There they whimper.

Her eyes close, unleashing a howl
a song of lost time sung by the pack
For some at the back, devoid of feeling
She was a leader.
Nothing more.

More wolves join the chorus offering
their gilded praise, ignoring their hostility
for one moment of tranquility
in her dry eyes there’s a glimmer of hope
Run as one.

One the that she couldn’t see
instead of the struggles that claimed the life
of her mate and many others in the pack
the packs all suffering together
the same way.

The howl fades away and all is silent
other than the hymn of crickets
chirping their mindless sound
the she-wolf closes her eyes
They follow her.

As yet another chilly wind passes
a fire slowly ignited the sky
grass swayed, her lips curl upwards
rise and fall once again, once again,
Once again.

Time heals all wounds except of course
the very ones that it causes
The she-wolf opens her eyes, hoping
she could see the grey shades of sunrise
Just once more.

Reflecting the morning sun, still
Those eyes are but orbs with her final breath.
The pack moves on, but she will not.
In the light of day, quiet like her breath.
Here falls the sound of a she-wolf’s death.