Early draft of CREAMERY CREEK

Early draft of  CREAMERY CREEK

My uncle caught a pregnant salmon with a pitchfork, 

roe escaped through the gashes 

and floated downstream where the name of the creek changes, 

but the creek still remains the same. 

Creamery Creek, Papermill, Lagunitas, 

fed by the Arroyo, Carson, and Crystal Springs. 

Inkwell, Shafter’s, and China House.
I rode bareback, plunging through pools 

on the floating island of red fur against the deep green water. 

Silver salmon spawn in cowshit at White House Bend. 

This creek is an artery that cuts through the valley 

and follows the veins up my arms to the heart. 

I slip off the back of the horse, grab her tail 

and I’m towed toward the opposite shore.

2/1982

Looking for old work to post in the blog, I was not expecting to find this, in a journal of poems I had transcribed for Napa Poetry Conference, that I had planned to work on, so dates were rarely added.