In Their Own Words
Drew Gardner on “Raised by Wolves”
Raised by Wolves
The confusing human world
looks at faces, not feral children
raised by kalimbas.
Romulus and Remus ping United States.
Whose meaning?
His camera brought together
by fears and bitches
equal to us, wrote the pharaoh.
A human child is your boss
surviving the food
born by encyclopedias.
I want my dog to feel equal to human freedom,
but what do these "freedom instructions" mean?
No one should speak
to themselves, but the shepherd should feed
and care for their wolves.
The first word would be uttered
in the root language
of all wolves.
When one of the children cried "because"
(a sound like the bleating of sheep)
with outstretched paws
the word was bread,
the social structure
clear and unambiguous,
and where the primal needs
for exercise, structure, and affection
are met fairly and consistently
by wolves, Egyptian wolves
integrating themselves into the space library.
Some dog lovers protest
when I ask them to step up
and become pack leader.
From Defender (Edge Books, 2018). All rights reserved. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
On "Raised by Wolves"
This is poem on a mythological theme: the foundation myth.
A brief recap:
Romulus and Remus are abandoned and left to float down a river. They are discovered and nurtured by a kind she-wolf. They become shepherds and some other Tea Party shepherds start shit with them and have Giuliani arrest them. Remus is then un-arrested Occupy Wall-style by a band of local anarchist shepherds. Romulus turns into a reactionary and starts building a wall. Remus is killed by Romulus for talking shit about his stupid wall. Romulus abducts and mass rapes the Sabine women. Thus Rome is founded. Romulus becomes increasingly more autocratic and Donald Trump-like, and is eventually rent limb from limb by members of the DSA
I like to think through themes using contradictions.
"Civilized" vs. "wild."
Humans problems as unique vs. human problems as part of problems in the animal kingdom.
Nurturance vs. discipline.
Seeking guidance vs. seeking independence.
Historically inherited social hierarchies vs. developed social equalities.
Who gets to define what needs have to be met, including the need for information.
When is it a failure to assert leadership vs. when is it a failure to not show leadership.
The shepherd and the wolf are part of the same system.
Defender
(Edge Books, 2018)
