“The Last Wolf” by Mary TallMountain was published in The Light on the Tent Wall: A Bridging in 1990. This book is one of TallMountain’s three full-length poetry collections; it was originally published by UCLA Press and reprinted by Freedom Voices in 1995. Freedom Voices also published several of TallMountain’s chapbooks, and her poems and stories have been featured in a wide variety of anthologies and periodicals. As a colleague of Paula Gunn Allen, TallMountain’s poetry falls into a genre with the controversial name “Native American Renaissance.”

“The Last Wolf” is a free-verse poem of 28 lines in four stanzas. It explores the themes of the destruction of modern society, as well as the destruction of indigenous languages. TallMountain asserts this poem is a record of a spirit vision, a part of her indigenous beliefs.

Poet Biography

Mary TallMountain was born in 1918 in Nulato, Alaska, near the Yukon River. Her mother was Russian, and Koyukon/Athabascan and her father was Scotch/Irish. When her mother became terminally ill with tuberculosis, TallMountain was adopted by her mother’s white doctor. The doctor’s wife first taught TallMountain about the Western tradition of poetry, specifically William Wordsworth. At 12 years old, TallMountain’s adoptive family moved out of Alaska.

TallMountain lived in San Francisco, California for many years. Before publishing her poetry, TallMountain worked as a public stenographer and as a legal secretary. In 1976, TallMountain returned to visit Alaska. In 1977, at 55 years old and with the encouragement of Paula Gunn Allen, TallMountain began publishing poetry. In addition to being featured in anthologies and journals, TallMountain published chapbooks and released two full-length books of poetry in her lifetime. She was one of the founders of the Tenderloin Women Writers Workshop.

Later in life, TallMountain frequently visited Alaska, and worked as a poetry teacher for children in remote Alaskan villages. She passed away in 1994, and had a posthumous collection of poetry published the following year.

Poem Text

TallMountain, Mary. “The Last Wolf.” 1990. Library of Congress.

Summary

“The Last Wolf” is a free-verse poem of 28 lines broken into four stanzas of varying lengths. It is written in the first person perspective and takes place in a future vision of a post-apocalyptic San Francisco.

The first stanza has eight lines: The speaker describes a wolf traveling through the ruins of San Francisco. The wolf is in a hurry, and his cries can be heard by the speaker. Familiar Bay Area streets contain destruction as well as buildings that have withstood the climactic end of the city. These buildings still have elevators that now serve no purpose.

With 13 lines, the second stanza is the longest of the poem. In it, the speaker continues to track the wolf’s progress through the city to where they hear it coming. The sounds and movements of the wolf are contrasted with the space through which he moves. San Francisco now consists of broken streetlights, debris, and emptiness. The speaker is located in a room situated on a high floor of an abandoned building. By the end of the stanza, the wolf approaches the door of the speaker’s room.

The fourth stanza of five lines is the second-shortest stanza. Here, the wolf reaches the speaker, who describes his head on the bed.

The fifth and final stanza only contains two lines. The speaker acknowledges the wolf in words about the state of the decimated city.