A Coyote Taught Me Poetry

About the Book

A coyote taught me about poetry and life. A four-part collection of poetry and prose tells of a journey of discovery that began during daily observations in the high desert of New Mexico. I met coyotes, cranes, and a homeless man who occupied the same territory on the edges of urban life. These experiences led to my involvement in a grassroots movement to save rural land from development. After a cross-country move to the Sunshine State, the fecund profusion of Southern wildlife and century oak trees deepened my appreciation for nature’s diversity. “Treasures and Connections” chronicles loss, death, and triumph of an internal journey to acceptance. The poems of love and relationships recount the personal examination that enabled me to understand life’s fragility. The final section is a tribute to my mother, a woman of her time, who wrote poetry and yearned to be heard.

About the Author

Jessica Lyn Elkins was born in Oklahoma and grew up in a small town in the Texas Panhandle. She moved to New Mexico in 1968 with her husband and two young children. She earned a BA in geography and biology in 1986 from the University of New Mexico and was awarded a master’s of arts in liberal education from St. John’s College in 1988. A varied career path included stints as a general contractor, ice-cream shop owner, and human resources manager for multiline automobile dealers. Jessica Lyn and her husband, Richard, relocated to Alachua County near Gainesville, Florida, in 2010. Her first novel, The Friend in Question, was published in 2015. She finds inspiration for her writing in the diversity of the natural world and the complexity of human relationships.