Never Trust a Polar Bear in Shades
you buy a leather jacket for your trip north
I wear it this morning hunting milk for our coffeethe sun is up and your scent is strong
though my guide the store clerk
can't recall a recent sighting
the radio reports an Inuit elder coupleare charged by a polar bear and send it packing
their rifle jams so they wrestle
a straight-arm with a fist is a shield
bear won't bite your arm the long way
and the old man thinks he might have tickled it
a shock I suppose
if you've never been tickled
the polar bear in the Calgary zoo is on prozacI wonder about Calgary
I’d need it too Ð
unaware of any medical condition
I’m at the observation window
as the bear finds a pair of careless sunglasses
florescent green and plastic
tries to eat them or put them on
succeeding in the latter
on its back and oh so cool
when a woman
concerned with fashion digestion
or seeking the return of her glasses
suggests the keeper enter the pit
and remove the offending spectacles
Lady a two ton bear wears what it wants
and I can see us wrestling bears some day
possibly on the same side
I'll concede you're always right
you'll admit you don't know everything
I won't ask you to shed your skin
and when I change the subject
you'll throw me a fish.
