Next poem is based on the principle,
"I pun, therefore I am."
And the poem is called "The Pack Rat."
And in this poem, I compare myself
to that exemplary creature.
"The Pack Rat, collector of lost beads,
buttons, bird bones, catalog maker with an eye for glitter,
litter-lover, entrepreneur of waste, bits of snail shell,
chips of jugs, red thread, blue thread, tin foil, teeth.
Fair-minded thief, leaving in my pocket when I slept,
the pine cone and two nuts for the dime you stole.
Reasonable romancer, journeying more than half a mile
to meet a mate.
Split-eared lover with a broken--
with a bitten tail your mate mates rough.
You last all courtship long.
You stick around when the brood comes, unlike most other rats.
Payer of prices, busy with no dreams,
but brain enough to get along.
Moderate music maker with moderate powers,
thumping the drum of frightened ground with both hind feet,
or scraping dry leaves til the still woods chirp.
Simple screamer, seized by the owls descent.
One scream and one regret, just one.
Fellow, forbear, survivor.
Have I lost my way?"