Song of the *Shangku:
In these harsh cold highlands
reaching the skies
The cloud sprites dance
to the cadence of my song.
The spindrift, a cruel ringmaster,
whips
An agony of purification
Into the bones.
Yet, as the flakes
like a benediction descend
It matters not, to my call to the wind;
For this is MY land;
And I am unafraid.
_________
* Shangku - is the Ladakhi name for the Himalayan Wolf (Canis himalyensis), sometimes also referred to as the Tibetan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco)
Image: 'Wolf-scape' in the Trans Himalaya.
Image and lines - by Rahul Ogra. Ulleytokpo, Eastern Ladakh. January 2015.