Wolf, Keki N. Daruwalla: Summary, Analysis & Themes
"Wolf" by Keki Daruwalla delves into themes of fear, myth, and the loss of innocence through the portrayal of a wolf that haunts the speaker’s past. The poem juxtaposes the natural majesty and danger of the wolf with the more mundane and destructive realities of modern life. It reflects on how mythic fears can intrude upon and shape our childhood experiences and the impact of their loss in contemporary times. Wolf by Daruwalla Poem Text
Fire-lit
half silhouette and half myth
the wolf circles my past
treading the leaves into a bed
till he sleeps, black snout
on extended paws.
Black snout on sulphur body
he nudged his way
into my consciousness.
Prowler, wind-sniffer, throat-catcher,
his cries drew a ring
around my night;
a child's night is a village
on the forest edge.
My mother said
his ears stand up
at the fall of dew
he can sense a shadow
move across a hedge
on a dark night;
he can sniff out
your approaching dreams;
there is nothing
that won't be lit up
by the dark …