Hypothermia

When I see myself in you

When the fire is no longer blazing
for the sake of conversation
but for the body heat
of survival
I grab onto the lifeline
of the willow roots
like a critter in the vein
of the green womb
on its way to
upstream salvation
every rock which hits
a minor accident
where the primeval
journey might end

I can swim crawl howl
and look into the distance
and the future
projecting landing upon
landing on the white
shore of what was
paradise a decade
of growls ago
whipped battered
and bruised
my teeth sharpen
hands and feet
claws which
conquer the currents
and the inches
my mind fails
to appreciate

a woman dead
an animal alive
I arrive