MEET THE COYOTE KING

"Earth laughs in flowers" 

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Hamatreya

The Coyote King from Camilla Stark's graphic novel: "The Desert Prophet"

Camilla Stark, an artist, MT patron and friend, invited me to create some guest art for her soon-to-be released graphic novel: "The Desert Prophet". I love her work so much!

Camilla's graphic novel is about a wandering prophet at the end of the world who encounters various archetypal characters, each with a unique perspective on existence as the world comes to an end...I identified most with the ever laughing, Coyote King...

I hear coyotes almost every night near my home in Kanab, Utah. There are several packs of them living on the empty 200 acre lot adjacent to us. This land is currently being prepared for a new development targetting the most affluent of home buyers. I wonder if the laughter of my furry neighbors will cease in the upcoming years? It's highly likely it will diminish as the development progresses; but I know the coyotes will always be laughing on the other side of the bluff, and in nearby canyons. They will ALWAYS be laughing somewhere!

In reference to the quote above: "Hamatreya is a poem that Emerson wrote in the mid-1800’s....Its message is well worth contemplation in our day and age as individuals and nations reckon with the forces of nature. Well beyond ideology or opinion, the poem expresses the reality of humankind’s relationship to nature. The core theme of the poem was taken from Emerson’s reading of ancient Hindu writings....Emerson guides us to see the futility in our boasting and pride and points towards an awareness of the cycle of life. Earth is given a voice in this poem. This awareness of earth’s living relationship to each of us is essential for any meaningful discussion of humankind’s relationship to nature." —Sujantra McKeever

"Earth has to laugh at humans because they always act as if they own it, while in reality they come and go while Earth remains. "They called me theirs / Who so controlled me / Yet every one / Wished to stay, and is gone / How am I theirs, if they cannot hold me / But I hold them?" —Nikkie le Nobel

NOTE: The full length poem Hamatreya is found at the end of this post.

To learn more about The Desert Prophet, please go to Camilla's kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/camillastark/the-desert-prophet-graphic-novel

And I encourage you to check out her website to learn more about her other various projects: www.

camillastark.com.

Camilla is also involved in the ARCH-HIVE art collective which I also encourage you all to check out. w

IMAGE: A pen and ink preliminary sketch of the Coyote King from The Desert Prophet

———————————————

HAMATREYA

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bulkeley, Hunt, Willard, Hosmer, Meriam, Flint,

Possessed the land which rendered to their toil

Hay, corn, roots, hemp, flax, apples, wool, and wood.

Each of these landlords walked amidst his farm,

Saying, “’Tis mine, my children’s and my name’s.

How sweet the west wind sounds in my own trees!

How graceful climb those shadows on my hill!

I fancy these pure waters and the flags

Know me, as does my dog: we sympathize;

And, I affirm, my actions smack of the soil.”

Where are these men? Asleep beneath their grounds:

And strangers, fond as they, their furrows plough.

Earth laughs in flowers, to see her boastful boys

Earth-proud, proud of the earth which is not theirs;

Who steer the plough, but cannot steer their feet

Clear of the grave.

They added ridge to valley, brook to pond,

And sighed for all that bounded their domain;

“This suits me for a pasture; that’s my park;

We must have clay, lime, gravel, granite-ledge,

And misty lowland, where to go for peat.

The land is well,—lies fairly to the south.

’Tis good, when you have crossed the sea and back,

To find the sitfast acres where you left them.”

Ah! the hot owner sees not Death, who adds

Him to his land, a lump of mould the more.

Hear what the Earth say:—

                EARTH-SONG

          “Mine and yours;

          Mine, not yours.

          Earth endures;

          Stars abide—

          Shine down in the old sea;

          Old are the shores;

          But where are old men?

          I who have seen much,

          Such have I never seen.

          “The lawyer’s deed

          Ran sure,

          In tail,

          To them and to their heirs

          Who shall succeed,

          Without fail,

          Forevermore.

          “Here is the land,

          Shaggy with wood,

          With its old valley,

          Mound and flood.

          But the heritors?—

          Fled like the flood's foam.

          The lawyer and the laws,

          And the kingdom,

          Clean swept herefrom.

          “They called me theirs,

          Who so controlled me;

          Yet every one

          Wished to stay, and is gone,

          How am I theirs,

          If they cannot hold me,

          But I hold them?”

When I heard the Earth-song

I was no longer brave;

My avarice cooled

Like lust in the chill of the grave.ww.arch-hive.net