so much us, so much not us

bears

I love the black bear,
I know in my bones,
like the Cherokee knew,
that bears are our cousins,
wilder versions of us
who, in their seamless weavings
into forest, stream, and mountain,
remind us that we, too, are of the earth,
and not above it or beyond it,



I am intrigued by how much
the world reveals itself to them
in smell, sound, and intuition,
and how little through the eyes,
whereas we humans see best by seeing,













we can love the bear
for it is so much us
and so much not us,
when our paths cross
feet stop, cars stop,









and cameras race to hold the moment,
and, if a cub is involved,
we see a child,
and we know how much the mother cares,


















if only we humans could care
about every child born to life,
and still realize the rightness
all the many times potential cannot
yet find a time to be.

by Henry Walker
August 6, ’11