Bear Nearby
Tonight a bear's at the perimeter,
beyond where cabin-lights dissolve.
The animal breaks brush and gulps air,
snorts, working hard, and we hear this.
We glance up at Ursa Major above
the Sierra Buttes, a risen massif.
We figure the bear's breaking down
an apple tree now and gorging--wild
and deliberate, focused and irascible.
We don't walk closer. The bear doesn't
advance. There's a distance to be kept.
There's a fascination in the dark,
which entertains a big invisible mammal
whose family's lived here since before
any human named constellations or
eavesdropped on night's business.
Copyright 2009 Hans Ostrom
2 comments:
This instantly reminded me of how yesterday, I heard the U.S. found a Russian submarine off the east coast... a bit too close for comfort. Since the Russian 'mascot' is a bear... well...
"Tonight a bear's at the perimeter,"
ha ha.
If you had told me you were thinking of a poem when we were bear hunting I could have offered up a couple of very unremarkable, meaningless lines.
Olaf
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