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Hibernation

By: - May 26, 2020

Hibernation

Long and winding road
Up a steep driveway
Above my pay grade
Deep in the woods
Home alone
Global lockdown
High noon
Having a sandwich
Turkey on rye
Looked from window
Holy cripes
Out on the lawn
Mostly scruffy brush
Huge black bear
Four hundred pounder
Big as they get
Here in the Berkshires
After winter snooze
Packing on weight
Munching on shrubs
Quite unperturbed
Top of the heap
Ignored bird feeders
Seed on the ground
Scarfed up by critters
As Steve put it
Lunch with a friend
Social distancing
Well recommended
Steady big fellah
No need to panic
Grabbed his camera
An incredible shot
From a distance
Sleek and fit
An old timer
Took decades
To get that big
Had his fill
Lumbered off
Slow and steady
To fish in a stream
Sushi for supper
No tourists around
Bummer this summer
Back to nature
Where wild animals
Don’t wear masks
Except to shop

Postscript from Steve Nelson

Hey, I recognize that bear. After all, he was only 10 yards away when I got the shot. Socially distant, thank you.  I’d know him anywhere, but hope we don’t meet when I go for a walk.
Here’s an animal that does wear a mask, on my back patio eating the seeds the bear had ignored. But he doesn’t get it - you’re supposed to cover your nose and mouth, not your eyes, unless it’s a stickup. Your seeds or your life! But in reality, a rather friendly fellow who looked me in the eye as if to say, “Who are you?”