WEBVTT

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Once again, perhaps
I've overreacted

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to what a professor of mine
pointed out to me long ago.

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Pointed out the
passage in Cocteau

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where he indicates calmly
that all poets are liars.

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I exult in the truth
of this next poem.

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It's full of sound
advice, like a package

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from up here about
how to plow the ground

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and how to plant your crop.

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It could be read
in a tone of voice

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that I can't quite manage.

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I know it's not my own.

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I hope it's not my own, in the
tone of an overbearing lecturer

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who knows more about a subject
than you will ever know,

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and as a matter of
fact, a poem that

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implies that it's truly more
of concealing information

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from you.

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That may be vital.

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That's an extended metaphor
for the human condition,

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as I hope this poem implies.

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It's called, "Staying Alive."

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"Staying alive in the wood is a
matter of calming down at first

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and deciding whether to wait
for rescue, trusting to others,

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or simply to start walking
and walking in one direction

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till you come out or
something happens to stop you.

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By far the safer choice
is to settle down

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where you are and try to
make a living off the land,

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camping near water,
away from shadows.

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Eat no white berries.

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Spit out all bitterness.

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Shooting at anything means
hiking further and further

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everyday to hunt survivors.

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It may be best to learn what
you have to learn without a gun,

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not killing but watching
birds and animals go

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in and out of shelter at will.

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Following their example,
build for a whole season.

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Facing across the wind in your
lean-to, you may feel wilder,

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but nothing, not even you,
will have to stay in hiding.

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If you have no matches,
a stick and a fire-bow

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will keep you warmer or the
crystal of your watch filled

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with water held up to the sun.

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It will do the same in time.

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In case of snow
drifting toward winter,

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don't try to stay awake through
the night, afraid of freezing.

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The bottom of your mind
knows all about zero.

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It will turn you over and
shake you till you waken.

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If you have trouble sleeping
even in the best of weather,

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jumping to follow
with eyes strained

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to their corners, the
unidentifiable noises

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of the night and feeling bears
and packs of wolves nuzzling

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your elbow, remember
the trappers

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who treated them indifferently
places and were left alone.

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If you hurt yourself, no
one will comfort you or take

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your temperature, so stumbling,
waiting, and climbing

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are as dangerous as flying.

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But if you decide at last,
you must break through

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in spite of all danger, think
of yourself by time and not

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by distance, counting
wherever you're

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going by how long it takes you.

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No other measure will bring
you safe to nightfall.

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Follow no streams.

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They run under the ground
or fall into wilder country.

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Remember the stars and moss when
your mind runs into circles.

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If it should rain or the
fog should roll the horizon

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in around you, hold still for
hours, or days if you must,

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or weeks, for seeing is
believing in the wilderness.

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And if you find a pathway,
wheel-rut, or fence-wire,

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retrace it left or right.

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Someone knew where he was
going once upon a time,

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and you can follow, hopefully,
somewhere, just in case.

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There may even come on
some uncanny evening

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a time when you're warm and
dry, well-fed, not thirsty,

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uninjured, without fear, when
nothing either good or bad,

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is happening.

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This is called staying alive.

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It's temporary.

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What occurs after is doubtful.

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You must always be ready
for some things that

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come bursting through the
far edge of a clearing,

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running towards you, grinning
from ear to ear and hoarse

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with welcome, or something
crossing and hovering overhead

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as light as air like
a break in the sky,

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wondering what you are.

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Here you are face to face with
the problem of recognition.

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Having no time to make
smoke, too much to say,

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you should have a
mirror with a tiny hole

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in the back for better
aiming, for reflecting

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whatever disaster you can think
of to show the way you suffer.

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These body signals
have universal meaning.

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If you are lying
flat on your back

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with arms outstretched
behind you,

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you say you require
emergency treatment.

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If you are standing erect
and holding arms horizontal,

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you mean you are not ready.

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If you hold them over your
head, you want to be picked up.

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Three of anything is
a sign of distress.

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Afterward, if you see no ropes,
no ladders, no maps or messages

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falling, no searchlights
or trails blazing,

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then chances are you should
be prepared To Burrow deep

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for a deep winter.

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