background image
40
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,
And sleep it off . How
A big, bushy-tailed
Ruddy coyote paused