Matthew R. Callies

Born to Herd

The reindeer shift like smoke. They

trust the one with the bark, the were-

wolf of winter, soft in fur but born

of ice. With every howl, they learn to

move, to keep together, to listen. Herd

dogs don’t need reins—they breathe and

circle, circle, circle, then endure.

What else is loyalty, if not the

art of waiting and working through snow?