Moon’s Beloved Fox (Foxfire)
Amber Essenmacher, Sophmore - English
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Patricia Killelea - English
The protectors of the forest appeared
at the edge of the frozen sky-mirror.
I somehow knew the being we approached;
She beckoned us to the cold disc’s center.
I knew that a human she could not be,
for I felt no fear; she lit our dark night.
Then suddenly her true name came to me:
The Moon; I sing beneath her milky white.
She told us of her weakening and pain:
As nights and time moved forward, light would die,
how before too long she would wax and wane.
She asked us to join her; to right her sky.
She needed us to watch the world each night.
Alone, she could not light the way for all.
So one-by-one, despite their mounting fright
the woodland creatures filled her desperate call.
Eagle, then Ram.
Wolf, then Hare.
Crow, then Lynx.
Bear, then even fresh Cub.
Coyote, then me.
Each figure glowed as it lifted upward.
Silver spattered bodies now bright and free.
They would be immortalized, she assured,
against a black backdrop eternally.
My paws slipped as I stepped onto the lake.
I leapt and leapt as I saw others do.
Still I was grounded. Eyes wide awake
I looked to her, asking to join them too.
Alas little one, this task is not yours,
she spoke in wisps and shook her glowing head.
I yipped, despaired, as her sky I adored
and worshipped nightly when most were in bed.
I slumped against the hostile sheet of cold.
The universe considered me a pest,
paling in comparison to the bold
wolf, coyote, wise eagle, bear, and the rest.
I was unoriginal.
I have a more important job for you,
she said and held my face in loving hands.
I need you to paint the night and dance through,
singing your song to all the watching lands.
Then Fox rose and a chorus howled down
around his newly colored fur and frame.
Pastel features replaced the red and brown
and with his new hope, he could not be tamed.
Moon’s Fox now set the Northern sky ablaze
and everywhere he went he felt their praise.