Bears

My kids are at camp this week. The house feels weirdly quiet, although I’m sure the cat will do her best to make up the difference come meal time. She’s very vocal when hungry.

It could be a good week to get lots of work done or a good week to prepare for the next weeks coming up. Lots to do either way.

And I’d like to pretend that this isn’t the case, but there is a chance that instead of getting extra work done personally, my husband and I will spend way too much time playing Minecraft.

I just really like Minecraft. And Stardew Valley. Both are so much fun. You can mine and farm and explore. And sure, sometimes a monster kills you, but sometimes, you kill the monster and that’s fun.

My latest favorite thing to do in Minecraft is to make a flint and steel and burn things down. Last night, I burned down an Outpost and the majority of a forest. It felt weirdly cathartic.

Just to clarify, in real life, I generally do not burn things down. Just saying.

I wonder if it’s time to write another cat poem. I just really have a way with words whenever it’s about cats. Although I wonder if I can extend that same gift to poems about any other animal.

I’ve been interested in bears lately. Specifically grizzly bears who go up to the river and stand there and let the salmon jump in their mouths. The bears just seem like they are having such a great time. They look very happy and I’m happy for them.

Of course, the salmon don’t seem to be having nearly as much fun, but if you’re stupid enough to jump in a bear’s mouth, you cannot really object that much to being eaten.

An Ode to Bears

The bear lumbers unconcerned

Uninterested in what you’ve heard

He knows exactly what he’s about

He’s going to catch himself a trout.

He splashes till he’s soaking wet

And full of all the fish he gets

Until his claws are sharp and fishy

He licks his lips, it was delishy.

The bear climbs cutely up the bank

I should back up, you start to think

The bear could eat you if he tried

But maybe he won’t until he’s dried.

You see, it’s artsy because it’s ambiguous. Is the bear going to eat you or not? You don’t know!

Let me know if you have any particular animal poem you’re interested in. I can’t guarantee you a good animal poem, but I believe I can write bad poetry about nearly any animal. It’s a gift.