bear I see you
(summer)
go to sleep wandering bear
find soft ground, hide yourself from the wind,
stare up through the trees as the sun disappears
and greet the stars with a tired smile as you join them in your dreams
awake in the morning,
and licking your lips, winking your small eyes, slowly turn your head, stretching and releasing the sleep from your body
(I admire the sheen of your fur)
arise in strength and move
slowly and lumbering at first, but soon gracefully
(your paws indent the soft earth, and she remembers, long after the rain has washed away your path)
pull the warm morning air through your nostrils
and exhale,
(your voluminous breath interferes with the flight of an explorative moth!)
greet the nearby stream as it greets you, with bubbles like laughter
now approach the dark still waters,
notice your reflection
(you do not understand)
breaking the mirror with your tongue you drink
satisfied (but do you know happiness?)
I watch
I watch, but I am not there
(winter)
have a conversation with me bear
about how you slept in the winter, feeling your young within your womb
holding them inside you
dreaming with them
(what did you dream about?)
tell me about when they were born
describe their virgin faces
their soft yelps and their hungry young eyes
and how you licked their small bodies
and later watched them play
at night you loved them most
protecting them from wolves while they slept
(…)
tell me about when your child died
you nudged my body with your nose
you licked my eyes, but they would not open
I grew cold,
and you had to leave me there