The Voice of the Wolf

[qos]

I am reading a book called The Wolf, the Woman, the Wilderness: A True Story of Returning Home. The author, Teresa tsimmu Martino, writes of her experience returning an orphaned wolf to the wild, and in doing so discovering some of her own wildness along with the strength of her mixed Italian-Osage heritage. She is a woman who lived with several wolves and wolf-dog mixes over the years, and knows them well.

She writes vividly and with love -- and one passage today struck me with particular force, for in the imagined voice of one of her wolves she captured the voice of my beloved who had kinship with wolves.

Writing about the futility of trying to force a wolf into a vehicle, she describes the final stage of the conflict. The italics are hers:

"But if I continue, perhaps muttering 'Get up you lazy old dusty thing,' The wolf grabs my arm in his teeth, snarling, as if to say, Look, move me where I don't want to go, and we're going to have problems. Your problems will be bigger than mine. He then looks at me with a frank arresting stare, the strength of the mountain rumbling in his eyes."

Those who knew Lohain will, I think, hear his voice in the italics (shaded with laughter or cold warning, depending on the situation) and remember the mountains in his eyes.

Comments

Dead ringer

[unicorndelamer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the similarity is astonishing and it made my heart jump just reading it. Wow. I do regret that I didn't get to spend more time with him this go around to truly appreciate all the change he'd gone through. Thanks for the info on the book, too. It sounds worth picking up and I may have to add it to my wish list.

Re: Dead ringer

[qos.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the affirmation. It means a lot.

The book is excellent. I'm definitely giving it to my daughter to read once we're done with HP-7. It's set in this region, and there's a wonderful vividness to it.

[oakmouse]

Heh. Yes, I can hear that from the spirit I have come to know. QOS, you will remember a situation recently where he was trying to make sure I heard him clearly? That tone exactly, and that look.

[qos.livejournal.com]

What keeps striking me about both the words is that I know he could use the same ones to tease or in a situation where he was prepared to kill. The difference would be in the inflection -- and in his eyes, whether they were sparkling or cold.

[oakmouse]

Yes, I can see that quite clearly.