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Perhaps halfway to Bemidji we met a cleaning crew
Removing fallen trees but it helped us little
As they had only just started when we saw them.
The riverbed was much lower than fields it cut
So our vision was mostly of what lay ahead.
There must have been hidden springs though
For the water soon was deeper than our oars.

We really had no way to measure progress, 
But pressed hard knowing Holly was waiting, 
The evening of the third day, cooler ice intact, 
And air temperatures over 40 Degrees, 
Camped in pastures, no signs of human dwellings
Our propane stovetop making cooking easy, 
With clouds of friendly gnats, shielding us from sun! (4) 

Four and one half long days after departure
The first signs of ‘manfall' lessened guilt
As we crossed under a modern bridge, 
My sister in beach front motel, called police.
Planes had been flying the river for two days
But the tree cover there hid us from view…
Food, baths, and bed capped perilous undertaking! (5)  

Brian Johnston
October 21, 2014

Poet's Notes:
(4)     This line reminds me of a letter I sent to my mother when I was teenager putting up hay stacks to feed cattle in the winter in South Dakota. I mentioned the friendly gnats in her letter too and talked about how much money I was saving on sun tan oil but complained that there were so many that they blocked out the sun completely so that I could not get a tan! But then I added that, in spite of this, I really didn't mind the gnats because they protected me from large flying red ants! 
(5)     My sister was so worried by our late arrival that search and rescue planes were sent out flying the river in search of our bodies! Ha!

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