Clawing Bear
Im sensing the beast,
Moving closer and closer to where I am,
Sniffing my presence and trying to recognize it.
Ive been stalking this bear for monthes,
Waiting to attack-
Waiting for it to come towards me.
Now that it is,
My heart is pounding in my chest, the realization
of what Im doing dawning on me.
I wait behind a small shrub,
So I can see its brown fur and shaded eyes.
So I can smell the secret human,
Breathing inside, with all its dangers and complexities.
It comes closer to my trap,
The small pile of berries I left.
Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries.
Fresh, and almost perfect.
Drawing even closer, it sniffs at the berries.
His foot, so close to the trip wire,
I can feel them scratching together.
He passes the line,
And snap- he is mine.
A clamp has landed harshly on his foot,
And he screams with pain and agony,
Knowing he was fooled.
Im not sure whether to cry or laugh.
Was it not my intention to capture the bear?
To lure it into my heart, and keep it there?
It screams with anger, trying to detach itself.
But I know he wont.
Hes stuck, consumed in anger,
So much anger.
He wont be able to get out without my help.
I know this bear, you see, this crazed bear.
Ive met him before,
On my many treks through the forest.
He was stuck under a tree,
Wedged, unable to move.
I was nervous, knowing he was a dangerous animal.
I gingerly tried being friendly with it,
To show I meant no harm.
But this bear was so hurt, numbed by pain,
He didnt seem to notice me.
I used every bone in my body to push the tree off of him.
The minute he could, he raced into the forest,
Leaving me behind.
I was hurt by the bear,
Even knowing how lucky Id been not to be dead.
But I now had this bear of my own doing.
I waited for the bear to calm down.
I waited for him to eat the berries,
And let the numb pain reach his brain again.
Once that happened, I took a stick,
And decided to poke it.
I carefully held my gun in front of me,
And poked the bear.
He only gazed at me.
I did it again,
And still he gazed.
His dark brown eyes killed me,
Because I knew where they had been.
I had stared into them,
And tried to understand their depths.
But to no product.
I never really understood what was in his eyes,
For he was a bear, and I seemed to forget that.
I forgot my fears of the bear,
And walked striaght up to it.
I ran my fingers through its fur,
And held its head in my arms.
He was so huge, his mass overcoming me.
I felt a weight in my stomach,
One that filled me but drained me.
I loved this poor bear.
This bear with so much anger and anguish,
With such a look of understanding.
I needed to hold this bear,
And stay with him.
I lay next to him while he slept,
And gathered him berries when he was hungry.
I grew old with this bear.
This clawing bear, who tore at whatever he could.
And to this day,
Never did I love any bear,
As much as I loved him.
Moving closer and closer to where I am,
Sniffing my presence and trying to recognize it.
Ive been stalking this bear for monthes,
Waiting to attack-
Waiting for it to come towards me.
Now that it is,
My heart is pounding in my chest, the realization
of what Im doing dawning on me.
I wait behind a small shrub,
So I can see its brown fur and shaded eyes.
So I can smell the secret human,
Breathing inside, with all its dangers and complexities.
It comes closer to my trap,
The small pile of berries I left.
Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries.
Fresh, and almost perfect.
Drawing even closer, it sniffs at the berries.
His foot, so close to the trip wire,
I can feel them scratching together.
He passes the line,
And snap- he is mine.
A clamp has landed harshly on his foot,
And he screams with pain and agony,
Knowing he was fooled.
Im not sure whether to cry or laugh.
Was it not my intention to capture the bear?
To lure it into my heart, and keep it there?
It screams with anger, trying to detach itself.
But I know he wont.
Hes stuck, consumed in anger,
So much anger.
He wont be able to get out without my help.
I know this bear, you see, this crazed bear.
Ive met him before,
On my many treks through the forest.
He was stuck under a tree,
Wedged, unable to move.
I was nervous, knowing he was a dangerous animal.
I gingerly tried being friendly with it,
To show I meant no harm.
But this bear was so hurt, numbed by pain,
He didnt seem to notice me.
I used every bone in my body to push the tree off of him.
The minute he could, he raced into the forest,
Leaving me behind.
I was hurt by the bear,
Even knowing how lucky Id been not to be dead.
But I now had this bear of my own doing.
I waited for the bear to calm down.
I waited for him to eat the berries,
And let the numb pain reach his brain again.
Once that happened, I took a stick,
And decided to poke it.
I carefully held my gun in front of me,
And poked the bear.
He only gazed at me.
I did it again,
And still he gazed.
His dark brown eyes killed me,
Because I knew where they had been.
I had stared into them,
And tried to understand their depths.
But to no product.
I never really understood what was in his eyes,
For he was a bear, and I seemed to forget that.
I forgot my fears of the bear,
And walked striaght up to it.
I ran my fingers through its fur,
And held its head in my arms.
He was so huge, his mass overcoming me.
I felt a weight in my stomach,
One that filled me but drained me.
I loved this poor bear.
This bear with so much anger and anguish,
With such a look of understanding.
I needed to hold this bear,
And stay with him.
I lay next to him while he slept,
And gathered him berries when he was hungry.
I grew old with this bear.
This clawing bear, who tore at whatever he could.
And to this day,
Never did I love any bear,
As much as I loved him.