Paddle to the Sea
ItՉs springtime in the Sandhill River.
I see catfish swimming against the current.
I see a buck gulping water from the river.
Along the shore, beavers are gnawing on wood.
Green grass sprouting, frogs coming out of the mud.
ItՉs summertime in the Red River.
I see giant catfish and sturgeon feeding on insects.
I see silt along the shore as red as Oklahoma dirt.
Fishermen in boats.
They find me and bring me up the stream, letting me go.
ItՉs autumn in Lake Winnipeg.
Goldeyes are getting caught by fishermen.
Frost in the morning.
Brown, red, orange, yellow leaves on the trees.
Black bears preparing for hibernation.
ItՉs winter in the Nelson River.
Coyotes hunting for rabbits.
I see a grizzly with her cub catching salmon.
I float into the forbidding Hudson Bay.
I am almost to the ocean.
I made it to the ocean-
A shark ate me.