a gift to us

the kingdom of bears

“look on the other side of that large meadow,

there’s a black dot. . . it’s moving!”

and so we saw our first mama bear and her two yearlings,

distant, but real,

ambassadors from a world that we don’t control,

a hint of a kingdom we don’t rule 

but that we are a part of,

then soon along the road,

another mama bear and her two yearlings

stop the car before us so they can cross the road,

our cameras clicking and whirring,

the three bears have salad time in the field before us,

my students respectful, excited, safe,

as I work to capture their images in the foreground

with the foraging bears in the background,

two more bears show themselves a bit

as they slip through a grassy field,

we are lucky today,

may we feel as appreciative

as the bears’ gift to us deserves.

by Henry H. Walker
May 23, ‘18