WEBVTT

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Thank you.

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I'd like to say that
I'm flabbergasted

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that so many people are here.

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And I'm afraid that I
won't be able to come

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near the introduction that I've
had but thank you very much.

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I'd like to read some poems
first tonight from my chapbook

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that Peter Paraschi
mentioned to you, Willamette.

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And hope that I overcome some
of my nervousness that way.

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Title poem.

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Willamette is the name
of a river in Oregon.

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And I sort of grew up along it.

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At roughly translated it
means river of many waters.

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"Willamette."

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My life has always
been here in the water.

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Home can never be in dry
places for I have grown

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in the colors of dusk and fog.

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River nights own me
like Indian parents,

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and when the water
is clear in season

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I've seen what it
keeps to itself.

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Blackberries have mixed
my blood with their own

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and the river
stones have asked me

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to come with them after
July trout with the river's

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legitimate son.

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Brush never cut you,
John, Indian or not,

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who didn't have to think about
it and you knew all the water.

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But there was a day
we waited too deep,

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the dogs swept away
and left us swimming

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one handed with our gear through
reddening beet cannery water.

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On the island bar
we caught a pair

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of big flathead chubs
and a cutthroat you

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said was a spawner, sea run and
going for home so we let it go.

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The chubbs clapped on
hot stones for buzzards.

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We crossed back at
a better place went

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to our belts and
beet juice water,

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rocks under our canvas
shoes were slicked

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with cannery garbage and we
could see downstream the heads

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of our dogs working
the level water coming

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and coming up the
bleeding river.

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