for Ötzi

Pulling the arrow’s shaft   ·   from his own shoulder   ·   on the east ridge with   ·   and an axe of solid copper and   ·   ibex meat undigested   ·   conifer pollen, so late spring   ·   bearskin snowshoes   ·   a pouch with his firelighting kit   ·   flint flakes and a tinder conk   ·   the mushroom kindling an ember for hours   ·   after he turned onto his stomach   ·   froze & thawed & froze again   ·   for five thousand years   ·   what beyond pain   ·   did he hear as the light flickered   ·   flickered on the mountain’s face   ·   what entered his body through the ears   ·   through the desolation of his eyes   ·   what did he take   ·   for which he had no name