A poem by Charley Genever

Inspired by Nene Park

They say a lone wolf roams this forest. 

If you find yourself here, in the belly of the night, you might get a glimpse of her. Don't be afraid. She's not wolverine or Seth Green in Buffy, she won't eat your sheep or your grandma, your house is safe, she's not a shadow-fur wolf or a god-hurter wolf or a hollow-silver wolf. No.  

Look at her. Magical, a miracle. She glows. 

She's a rainbow wolf in the noisy frost, lone but not lonely.

Lost but not lost. Lone but not lonely. Lost but not lost. 

When I say lost, I mean she's a dreamer, away with the elves, mind full of spells and lairy colours. And when I say lone, I don't mean friendless, she's just a secret in the snow. They say that this wily lupine is rarer than a shiny, legendary Pokémon. A glorious nomad in no man's land. 

Legend has it that once upon a time the earth conjured up a creature, a friend, to teach us how to see in spectrums.

A rainbow wolf in the noisy frost, lone but not lonely, lost but not lost. 

Some moments a bright red beats from the base of her heart to the tips of each claw. Red like holly berries, velvet suit, winter fruit bathing in mulled wine, red robin breast, red like a baby's nose the first time they see snow. 

And then her glow goes orange, a kitchen counter bowl adorned with clementine peels peeled by juicy acrylic nails. Orange like clockwork. Orange like pumpkin spice. Orange traffic light, ready to go. 

Then she's yellow, an angel atop a Christmas tree, solstice swirls in the sky, a golden marshmallow of light, mum's boxing day earrings dancing above the leftovers. 

Other moments, green rises from her paws. Mistletoe toes, up it climbs, green like a row of monopoly hotels, like grandad raving in glow stick glasses, absolutely neon. 

And then she's blue like the TV fuzz that floods the living room, and the warmth from being snuggled up with the ones you love, sapphires in their eyes, collar bone pillows, blue light of the kettle switched on… 

Rainbow wolf glows just like all of that. 

Magenta into yellow into turquoise, into light blue, light pink, white, light pink, blue. Waves of grey and brown and deep purple. Waves of mint and lemon and lavender and every other shade in-between. 

They say she was put on this earth to guide us. To get our heads out of the funky darkness.

A rainbow friend for anyone who is lonely or for anyone who is lost. 

So remember, if you feel outcast, like the magic is frozen inside you, if you've been denied your right to life, if you're tired of lying, tired of hiding, tired of trying to hold on. If you feel swallowed by darkness, If you ever feel empty or afraid, if you feel stuck, head stuffed with grey muck, if you feel lonely or if you feel lost,  come to this spot, right here, in the belly of the night, alive in moonlight, and listen for her howl. The rainbow wolf will arrive and bring the colour back to you. 

The rainbow wolf in the noisy frost, lone but not lonely, lost but not lost.