Kingdom of Rain II

I still dream of one day seeing
sniffing at the ground not far from me
softly grunting, a grizzly bear,
or sat down pulling at a vine of berries
or a sapling, oblivious to me or not caring
or, even, knowing that I am there
but with no malevolence,
with nothing more than wanting to stare
and wonder at it just being bear
and hope it will let me in
not predator, nor prey
somewhere in a North American jungle
with god knows what else around us
but still just me, the trees, the bear…

(full poem forthcoming in Groundwork, Kwela Books/ Snailpress, 2012)

(Kingdom of Rain I)