Ars Poetica.(Poem)

 
ARS POETICA 
 
   The mountain man, John Colter, is working 
   On his breathing. He's lodged under the stream 
   That he reached with such effort, so many Blackfeet 
   Behind him, around him, still he's managed somehow 
   To reach this river's safety, so he's working up 
   Snorkelling through a reed he snatched up on the way in. 
 
   A decent wager: "Run for your life; we'll give you 
   A head start, a few yards, some sunlight, some air." 
   He's making the most of it, he's invented cover: 
   A piled-up raft of cottonwood, loosed from the banks. 
   Now he's under it, safe, listening as the Blackfeet 
   Walk back and forth overhead, the muffled footfalls. 
 
   ...