to breathe in its realness

to smell a bear

“I smell a bear!”

cars slow,

slip off the road

into spaces not designed for them,

people erupt out, 

clump, 

point,

cameras aim,

so we too join the crowd, the search,

we follow a black furtive shape

as it slips through the woods,

completely in its own world,

just exploring and looking for a snack,

our spirits smell the bear:

we need to breathe in the realness of its existence.

by Henry H. Walker

May 18, ‘16