Timothy Treadwell, 1957-2003, grizzly bear activist and videographer, killed and eaten by a grizzly bear after living a decade in the Alaskan wilderness in the area known as the grizzly maze
berate the gods to end the drought so the salmon
can run and the bear can eat but don’t think
the rain is a response to your prayers and
you
have moved mountains, let alone heaven
or the grizzly thanks you bears
and
gods are dispassionate, ask Job
solitude is seductive and so is the edge
of life no one to
talk to
but the bear
lumbering large and slow behind you
like backdrop amongst the arctic grasses
but you are the backdrop
so tread well be
content with the company
of foxes that romp at your feet and
tame you for the stroke of your hand
steal your cap and scent for their den
the bear will leave the cap and take your scent
think nothing more of it (the former you)
although the watch still counts time
on the arm found along the grizzly maze
a grisly find we each have a bear
we stalk through the Alaska
of ourselves our grizzly maze
we think the bear stalks us, such ego
to suppose the grizzly cares
remember this
as the bear swims the Alaskan
waters
its massive head like the iceberg
and you stand in the frigid
water up to your thighs bent over
skin exposed reach fingers for the bear whisper sweet
nonsense
words to appease the grizzly as it slides past you
for shore now
close enough to touch its back
and you can’t resist