Call of the wild

By Allen Kitchen, aug 1999



Randall was a lawyer; a predator fierce and strong.
Cared not whether what he did was right or wrong.
Bringing in the bucks meant all.
Terrorizing those crossing into his paper world,
ignoring all the harm done by the suits he hurled.
Until that night he got a call...

	A growling sound was all he heard.
	He left his office without a word.
	His days are quieter, no more charges filed
	since the day he answered, the call of the wild.

George was a engineer; lord of science and math.
Working 80 hours a week his chosen life's path.
Yet the loneliness gave him a pang.
Few willing to share in the tech and the strife,
he'd long give up on finding a mate and a wife.
Till late at night his phone rang...

	A chorus of wolves howled out their hymn,
	begging George to come out and join them.
	He ran far, far away; leaving code uncompiled,
	to revisit his lost past, the call of the wild.

Alek was a midlevel manager at a midlevel firm.
Schedules.  Timetables.  Flowcharts.  Agreement of Terms.
Life was as colorful as a bone.
He couldn't remember a time when he wasn't bored.
So he tried to hide behind things his pay could afford.
Till one call came on his cellular phone.

	Heard the roar of the ocean and its spray.
	Otters laughed, asking him to come play.
	Caller ID traced the call from whence dialed,
	and off he went to swim with the call of the wild.

Me?  I'm nobody.  Though I may be a lot like you.
So busy with day to day things that you can't see through
civilization's gossamer thin veneer.
But I know that it's there, so I'm packing anyway
in anticipation of the hour, the week and the day
I can leave pain, anger, and fear...

	and go to a world where life is still good,
	be it jungle or mountain, ocean or wood.
	This modern life isn't all it was styled.
	So I'm patiently awaiting my call of the wild.

	I'm in the book you know...