"Beauty"

My two-headed beauty
She's worth more to me than all the gold in the Yukon
You all can keep your treasures!

A head harder than mine
With a body as sleek as the eagle's
That cuts swiftly through the sky
Sharpen her tongues to a razor
Work her hard!
She'll love me for it
Work her hard!
I'll love her for it

The sun breaks the frost bitten hills
My breath heaves hard
I can see it stream off
Like the gushing rivers that fill my lake
A perfect morn!

The chattering of birds and squirrels surrounds me
Swing!
Snap! Chink!
She takes a crisp bite out of the flesh
Swing!
Splinter! Break!
Another good bite

Hours pass quickly in the breeze
Sweat glistens on my forehead
Muscles tense and tighten
Swing!
My body relaxes with the follow through

Swing!
Crack! Pop!
The ground is littered with the left overs of my work
She's dancing with me now
We're become one
One to survive

Swing!
Split! Shuck!
The sun setting lazily off into the horizon
Leaving me with a good gut feeling
"I'll be warm tonight"
Cozy as a bear curled up in his den
A hard day's work
Swing!
Oh what a perfect day!

*This poem is dedicated to the memory of Dick Proenneke