“Contoocook River, Henniker New Hampshire” by Exponential Terrestrial Pedestrian

running north

cold and clean

bass and trout

flourish under

blue freewheeling

shadows of

eagle and heron

tall high-stepping

sure-footed moose

wade and wash

at the liveliest

whitewater fringes

of nursery pools

where spawned

salmon first learn

independence

and swim with

conviction that

here is a place

they can eagerly

live free or die