A Bear

ROBERT SIEGEL

A BEAR

A white bear groped the orchard of my dream,

Gulped cherries down his inexact raw throat,

His paws were bleeding blindly and his muzzle,

Sweet cherry, sweet cherry, sweet cherry-

I shot

The huge blind bear so enormously stuffing

Himself with winds of flowers, heaps of grass-

Green partridges, red and yellow marmosets,

And down he came with the bread of heaven

Thunderous on my brazen coat. I deferred

Handshakes and all grave bear solemnities,

Touching his wounded eyes and ears and nose.

He sang a slow song as he smoothly died,

Lifting his nose to the east and to the west,

A thin and quavering note for so large a beast

That crept in a slow stain across my vest.

Then blazing like a furnace of white snow

He lifted cavernous wings and drew

To his full height-his blood hung in bright beads-

He flexed his feathers once and flew

In a flattering arc to the sun that swelled

Imperceptibly to drink him in, then shone

As usual. Each day it's shone the same

Since I first rubbed my eyes to find him gone.