"If strategies" [philosophical ditty]

If strategies of meaning are rhetorical
while porcupines nonverbally express
a need for isolation that's historical
does this explain why poets might digress?
or is the origin rather in the rivers
that bring from places far meander's shivers?

If strategies of meaning are rhetorical
while salmon spawn far up original streams
a sense of mythic origins historical
does this explain why poets live in dreams?
or is the isolation of the diplomat
equivalent to poetry's forgotten hat?

If strategies of meaning are rhetorical
does that suggest the poet merely seeks
to quarry out an argument historical?
could that explain the joy of lips and cheeks?
or is the argument a play of verbal sport --
more musical device than logical report?

If strategies of meaning are rhetorical
does this explain the purpose of the calabash?
or should we first consult the ancient oracle?
the one who's lately traveling with Johnny Cash?
and what about the symbol of the wheel of time?
is reason what salts-out when we dissolve in rhyme?