Spring Break-up

the twelve-foot cedar strip

                      belongs to the headman

the assignment challenged the wind

                  funnelling up the river

      following the boys I entered the tunnel

seated as a sail

                   of cotton, denim and wool

around and around

                               and over

grab the keel

                          slip

grab again

                                     slip

blood slows and

                        pictures of summer dances,

report cards and roast beef

                        r-o-l-l-s-l-o-m-o

                                           on my screen

as the light in the projector

                             f l i c k e r s

the sound stops

                    and death reaches out

                                  to take me in

not counting on the vial

                of hidden adrenalin…

a side-stroke and the head’s canoe

                                       floats ashore

with my capsized ego.

                                                                (1983)