Suwannee Gauntlet
John Clare Stokes
Through the gauntlet of black bear and watery mire
I paddled the tipsy skiff warily
Upon every root a beady eyed moccasin
With every strike a snapping turtle grinning
On the bow, the bellicose bull gator scowls
On the stern, the who!who! dares of the barred owl
Off the starboard, piney rooters tusks shine
To the port, pileated’s fell the beetle full pines
Tis’not a place for the faint in heart
The cypress in chorus with Luna whispers depart, depart!
There’s mystra aflow below the Tupelo tree
The place where de Soto’s yet seek
The gold beyond the gauntlet of Suwannee.
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