We love bears. From Shakespeare’s imposs
-ibly exiting bear, Byron’s not-quite-forbid
den Trinity bear, Pierre Bezukhov’s toss
-ed-in-the-river bear, Goldilocks’s perfectly-in-the-mid
-dle bear, to Rudyard Kipling’s Balou the sloth
Bear; from Roosevelt’s poor animal (now i
-conic), Winnie-the-Pooh, and Paddington (both
Inspired by that Ted’s very teddy), to the wry
Rollicking Yogi. And blind, dancing Grac
-ie, Indian, muzzle pierced by a red-hot rod
To insert a coarse rope through the face,
Teeth smashed out, a standard mod:
What has she borne for years? Who cares?
What matters is we really love bears.
(31.5.26) v 1.3
