NaPoWriMo day 18

NaPoWriMo day 18 – a poem with the same first and last word. At first glance a straightforward enough prompt, but I've tried to add a little poetical device here by building from a non-rhyming first quatrain (learning new lingo through NaPoWriMo!) through part-rhyming to fully rhyming at the end, plus trying to get a slightly 'historical' feel to it (hence the title and a few somewhat archaic spellings). Love to know what you think about this!

Ye Olde English Otter

Thrice I’ve seen your passing,
Though many never have,
In the lowland streams of Hantescire,
Slinking swiftly near the banks.

A wet-fur flash of sleek brown pelt,
A barely witnessed river splash,
Trout and salmon nightly sought,
By tooth and claw, they’re defly caught.

While paw-print spoor and fish-scale midden,
Leave clues to lives that oft are hidden,
Betraying your moonlit foray,
Hiding holted through the day.

So spare the vole and spear the mink,
‘Ware the otterhound’s foul stink,
And the keeper’s ancient spite,
Seek the shadows, spurn the light.

With flick o’ t’ tail and whiskered wake,
Ripple waters night-opaque,
Grasp the eel in sharp-jawed vice,
You’re gone from sight – once, twice and thrice.