The Bear

By Thomas Page

I suppose if you were to ask me
What my spirit animal is,
I would say it was a bear

I heard some story that “bear”
Is a pseudonym for the animal
Because the original name is cursed.
It’s actually called “Arktikos”
Whenever a someone uttered it,
A bear would attack them.
It had something to do with it being summoned.

This reminds me whenever someone
Hears that I go by more than one name.
They look at me as if they’ve unlocked some secret,
Some treasure, some special access
When they call be by that name.

I have also heard that bears have no expression.
That when a bear is about to attack you
That it would look the same as it would
Looking for food or passing on by.

I tend to give people the wrong impression.
I’m quite near-sighted and when I’m not paying attention
My vision will recede and I will deathly stare at whatever’s ahead
People have told me that I stare into my soul
Or tried to break my vision with a smile
Others have stared back trying to ward me off
Without realizing I’m staring at nothing.
There’s a word in Japanese for it,
“Boketto,” I think,
Which describes the being on the Metro.
People tell me to smile more.
I oblige in turn.
They tell me I have a nice smile.

Bears also tend to like the solitude.
They’re kind of hard to find in nature
Only really viewable in a zoo.
They also don’t hang around bears.
They just sleep and eat.

This doesn’t mean I’m exactly like a bear
But bear in mind I like to have moments to myself.
Riding on the train listening to music is peaceful to me
But so is taking with people.
But I have to be ready.
Whenever I bump into people in public
Or someone appears like magic
Calling my name hoping to summon me like an Arktikos
I’m surprised and confused.
I need to prepare for it and if someone
Grabs my back and says “Hey,
How are you?” I will say
Something nonsensical because
I’m not ready. I will be but not in the moment.

The clearest reason why I’m compared to a bear
Is for my ursine feature and wild, brownish hair and reddish beard.
I’m the biggest in my family and stand out in crowds.

Certainly, if you were to pick an animal from an menagerie for me
A bear would make the most since.
It has stuck for my family.
They buy me things with bears on it.
Bear shirts, bear pullover, bear trinkets
I’m sure if I ever got an emblem
Or a coat or a title
By some monarch ruling in a faraway land
It would be destined
To be emblazoned with a bear.
“Here’s Sir Thomas, the Bear” he or she would say
I would ride into battle bashing enemies off with my shield painted with a bear on it.

So I accept this fact and bear it
With a grizzly smile.