A/N: I wrote this poem after only seeing the first five episodes of Wolf's Rain. It is a poem of discovery and by no means can I claim that it is correct. I write only of first impressions and first impressions are sneaky, lying little things. I write of the four as how they seem at first. No doubt the story will twist and turn as stories like to do and this poem will become null.

I don't feel like explaining this poem so I'll leave it up to you. I don't feel like arguing over this poem's meaning for it is doubtless some will be offended. I don't want to explain myself to you. I did enjoy the anime and it's characters and that's all you need to know. If you are offended please keep it to yourself. Thank you.

This is not a poem of praise.

-Paths Too Often Taken-

Four stray across the wild waste land

Four stray softly among a sea of empty roads

Four pairs of restless feet

Four pairs of starving eyes

The Spectrum seeks to Answer

The Shadow seeks to Run

The Sorrow seeks to Live

And the Sand seeks the Sun

Four have gone astray across a dying world

Four have only begun to challenge reality

Over and over resung

An echo of four howls

The Spectrum seeks to Answer

The Shadow seeks to Run

The Sorrow seeks to Live

And the Sand seeks the Sun

But of those fading echoes that long before

Sought in vain the land of the lunar flower

No one speaks their story

We only hear the four

The Spectrum seeks to Answer

The Shadow seeks to Run

The Sorrow seeks to Live

And the Sand seeks the Sun

And so it is with heroes; we hear their triumphant song

It is sung down through history, sung to the moon

It becomes a chant

Incessant and retold

The Spectrum seeks to Answer

The Shadow seeks to Run

The Sorrow seeks to Live

And the Sand seeks the Sun

But of lives taken before and tears shed like bitter stars

But of love and hate and failure and small forward steps

We never hear that story

Only the story of the four

The Spectrum seeks to Answer

The Shadow seeks to Run

The Sorrow seeks to Live

And the Sand seeks the Sun

Repeat the same old story

Follow the same old trail

Repeat the same old chorus

To death we sing this tale