Learning from Bear...
Have you ever noticed,
.. while wandering over meadows,
..... almost anywhere in Wallowa country,
....... the bare, naked bellies of Stone-folk
.......... lying exposed to the sun?
Surely this is more than
.. simply a sedimentary desire,
..... to absorb heat and grow lichens
....... where the sun hasn't shone
......... in a long, long while.
Often, these pale basalt under-sides
.. simply mark the hungry passage,
..... of Brother Bear... seeking
....... morsels to fortify a bruin's belly
......... with voles, lizards, ants and beetles.
Proximal dating of such activities
.. has more to do with the catch
..... of litter-fall, growth of seedlings,
....... remains of burrows, perhaps
......... even crunched carapaces.
Sometimes, I find myself scanning
.. the treelines, bases of big pines,
..... shaded thickets... when such sign
....... is fresh enough to be still smoking,
.......... as my own hackles raise.
--r.anderson 1Feb2011
