Negotiating overflow on the Koyokuk River, Brooks Range, Alaska — March 1989 — photo by author©
frozen river lets me travel
on her winter backbone waters
five head strong
and river-wise
the dogs rush on
and read the ice
seeking out the safest path
through overflow and crags
avoiding pushed-up shards
sharp as knives
all of us but frost-bound ghosts
gliding onward
onward
chasing puffs of frigid breath
on this bony river
into silence
into white
into self
and into beauty
unforgiving
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