Wild Inside
By John Herlihy

I
Inside, I see an eagle
Whose eye scans the horizon,
Earth and sky
Captured by its inner eye.
Inside lurks a wolf,
Solitary and self-possessed,
A creature of the snow,
Howling in the darkness here below.
Inside struts the peacock;
Vanity is my name.
My cry is but a sigh;
I see myself in my eagle eye,
Inside wanders a donkey,
Noble simplicity, not by choice
Derived from patient endurance,
Pity the harsh sound of its voice.
Inside slithers the snake,
Full of ambition and on the make,
Sleek and full of stealth,
Dead skin drops away in its wake.
Inside sits the owl,
Self-contained and content,
With wisdom for all weathers,
Locked securely within its feathers.

II
I am wild inside,
Primitive and untamed.
What do I present to the world,
But a presence fully named.
I am wild inside,
A primordial soul,
Created at the dawn of creation,
Humanity awakening, in principle whole.
I am wild inside,
Wilderness as necessity,
Food for the human soul,
Breath for the human spirit.
I am wild inside,
Native instinct, raw hunger.
Loyal to the earth
That gives birth and keeps us younger.
I am wild inside,
Uncivilized and mute.
I claim no protector,
Knowledge makes me astute.
I am wild inside,
True to myself, full of pride
No one is allowed inside,
To risk being on the wild side.