27 Impactful Wolf Poems

Inside : Beautiful and Impactful Wolf Poems to Read.

Since humans began creating art, wolves have been a constant symbol. In painting, song, and the written word, we have been telling stories of wolves for as long as we have been telling stories about ourselves.

Wolves are figures of strength, courage, and perseverance. At the same time, this majestic creature can represent loneliness, struggle, and desperation. The versatility of this beautiful animal and what it can represent is why it is used so regularly in works of art.

When it comes to poetry, we often see these poems depicting a lone wolf separated from its pack, one bonding with a lost stranger, hunting its prey, or a human overpowering it. With wolves, we reflect upon our experiences, as well as our connection to nature and our place in the universe.

Here is our list of over 27 impactful and meaningful wolf poems.

Lone Wolf Poem Collection

The figure of a lone wolf, wandering on its own, is a strong and thought-provoking figure in a huge catalogue of poetry. The image of a wolf separated from its pack has long been used as a symbol for human loneliness. Here are a few wolf poems with a solitary character.

1. The White Wolf – Amenlien Fox’s “The White Wolf” looks through the eyes of a white wolf wandering a snowy landscape, leaving its pack behind and howling in the night.
2. The Last Wolf –  A wolf wanders through a ruined and abandoned city toward the speaker. This poem by Mary TallMountain is thought-provoking and purposefully vague.
3. A Wolf – “A Wolf” is a poem written by Jorge Luis Borges. This piece follows a lone wolf, the last in America, being hunted in the night, and the mournful perspective of the speaker watching it.

Classic Poems About A Wolf and a Person

Wolves are often used to symbolize a struggle or battle of some sort. And, sometimes, this leads to a mutual understanding or companionship. These poems follow a person that finds themselves face to face with one of these animals, literal or figurative.

4. The Wolf – A poem following a creature on the hunt by Emily Pauline Johnson. It is a terrifying recount of a wolf attacking its prey, and the helplessness of the victim.
5. St. Francis and The Wolf – This poem by Katharin Tynan is about a confrontation between a Saint and a wolf. The animal, starving and alone, befriended the Saint, and came to visit him for years.
6. The Wolf – This poem was written by Imru Al-Qays and translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid. It follows a speaker that travels alongside a distant, solitary wolf.
7. Wolf – Isaac McLellan’s “Wolf” follows the hunt of wolves in the winter season.
8. A wolf in the park – In this poem, the speaker asks, “Is there a wolf in the park?” Though the speaker has never seen the creature in the park, he hears its howl and imagines it wandering throughout its structures.
9. The Wolves – In “The Wolves” by Elizabeth Madox Roberts, the speaker describes how their grandmother used to live in an old cabin where she was stalked by wolves.

Wolf Poems About the Human Experience

These poems are from the perspective of speakers that liken their emotions or experiences to wild wolves. Anger, love, and loneliness are all common emotions that are compared to a primitive, animalistic nature.These poems compare human experiences to those of wolves.

10. -lone Wolf- – This poem by Elizabeth Tyease Collins looks inside the mind of one that loves a woman so much it drives them to predator-like anger. It was written by George Szirtes.
11. Running Wolf – In “Running Wolf” by Dave Alan Walker, the speaker dreams that they are a wolf that lives among Native Americans. This poem explores a common trope of humans being the reincarnated souls of wolves.
12. The Wolf Reader – A poem that compares the thrill and draw of reading to the wild and instinctive nature of wolves.
13. Wolf Cento – “Wolf Cento” is a poem written by Simone Muench. This poem explores life and its journey as though you are living the life of a wolf.
14. A Wolf Is at the Laundromat – This poem by Jack Prelutsky looks at the wolf from a very different perspective: as a “wolf of Wall Street.” The speaker finds himself face-to-face with such a wolf at a laundromat.

More Poems About Wolves

Poems about wolves explore many things: fear of being hunted, longing for freedom, the sadness of isolation, and so much more. For years, human beings have used wolves as a subject for art because of their beauty and symbolism. Here are a few more poems about wolves.

15. The Wolves – This classic poem written by Aleksey Tolstoy follows a pack of wolves hunting within a church village. It describes the members of the pack and the actions taken by the villagers to keep themselves safe.
16. The Last Wolf in Edmonson County – The speaker in Davis McCombs’s “The Last Wolf in Edmonson County” reflects upon a natural landscape that was once roamed by wolves.
17. Dear Wolf – This poem was written by Grace Fallow Norton. It explores the relationship between human beings and wolves as predatory hunters.
18. The Wolf at the Door – “The Wolf At The Door” is a quatrain written by Ruth Hall. It is about protecting those of value from one that might threaten it.
19. A Night With A Wolf – Bayard Taylor’s speaker tells his child a story during a terrible storm. He recounts an experience he had overnight with a wolf, escaping from a storm, and how they were companions.
20. Incident on the Road to the Capital – “Incident on the Road to the Capital” was written by Dara Wier in 1949. This classic poem follows a wolf that wants to break away from wild, unmannered wolves, and the thoughts that the speaker has about the creature’s temperament.

Haiku Wolf Poems

Wolves are synonymous with nature, particularly with ice, snow, and moonlight. They are the perfect subject matter for haikus. Check out a few beautiful haikus about wolves.

21. Wolf Moon – “The forgotten one / alone watches from the shadows / he’s howling for love” — Liam McDaid, 2014.
22. Winter Wolf – “deer tracks disappear / neath quieting falling snow – / a long gray wolf howls” — Susan Ashley
23. The Moon – “The wolf finds the moon / Howling his thoughts to the sky / She never answers” — Amanda Moore
24. Night Winter Forest – “wind in the trees, snow / the wolf and rabbit at peace / night winter forest” — Slight Buckling

Quotes About Wolves

There are countless pieces of literature about the wolf. Here are some additional quotes about this majestic lupine creature.

25. “It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be.” — Virgil
26. “That night the wind was howling almost like a wolf and there were some real wolves off to the west giving it lessons.” — George R. R. Martin
27. “A man might befriend a wolf, even break a wolf, but no man could truly tame a wolf.” — George R. R. Martin.
28. “We have doomed the wolf not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be- the mythologized epitome of a savage ruthless killer – which is, in reality, no more than a reflected image of ourself.” — Farley Mowat