Coyote at the Door

Somehow I woke last night, remembering the coyote at my sister's door. It showed up one day, nose to the glass... drawn, apparently, by some bacon grease that her Eldest poured near the house (when it should have been taken to the far corner of the yard).

In the darkness of my bed, in my mind's eye, I saw the grey grizzled face, sharp eyes, saliva dripping. I saw the hunger in his aspect... poised as he was, there at the glass, hoping for more than a lick of grease.

This made me think of the story of "Dad's" brother. When yet a child, playing in the fields, he was carried off. By a wolf. And I lay there wondering, is there a coyote at my door? Or even more than one? Drawn there by carelessness of my heart and soul?

So I prayed to You, "Our Father, who art in heaven... lead me not into temptation, but deliver me... from the coyote at the door."