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I went by riffl
es
I'd have fi shed, before;
How in that estranged
New-shining water
I caught two more trout,
And, leaving them cleaned
On a streamside rock,
Turning back found one
Moved -- then saw the snake
That moved it, his jaw-
joints unfastened, whole
Head of fi sh inside
His mouth, his own head
Startlingly deformed,
Eyes looking close-set
Now that the small head
Had been stretched so wide;
How, motionless, he
Watched me, knowing well
That I might kill him,
How his eyes asked, "Well,
Will you?" and waited;
How, as I held still,
He moved, ever so
Slightly, stealthily,
Looking right at me.
How I went upstream
And from being tired
Lost three lures in quick
Succession, thinking:
I'm skin-tight, aching
With this day, bone-cracked
By it, like my friend
The snake with my trout
All but disabled
By the good fortune.
-- Time to crawl home, then,