A Wake

silent I stand
bathing in relief
of bitter cold
there -
can you hear it?
trapped in winter’s
suffocation the grass
cries out
the clouds laugh and snicker
and buried beneath
one of mother’s coffins
I find
the rotting corpse
of a forgotten spring
whose spirit becomes
the wind

Edwin Walls

Even in my strongest moments
I am inferior to the Grizzly.

Moving at the speed of the Internet,
capable of being reached at any time,
I am weak to the elements.

I have lost the taste for blood
and prey,
a weakling
I rely on my computer for a lively-hood.

I fear swimming to the other side.

The bear plunges into the depths and swims
across without worry.
He does not need constant communication
or electricity,
He is self-sufficient.

His eyes are as piercing as the claws
at the end of his powerful arms.
His fur a natural armor,
he swims alone.

Alone is a a scary word,
as scary as drowning.

A bear would never drown.

Edwin Walls
Inspired by Ron Refsland’s drawing “Grizzly Bear”