No Growling

A Civilized Bear
By GC SMITH

Most bears salivate for salmon
though I really can’t say why
especially when the menu holds
the delicate Chilean Sea Bass

Most bears den up and sleep
in musty, moldy caverns
though I really can’t say why
since I prefer my purified abode

Sniffing, flowers, checking fragrance
in constant search for honey and berries
is a thing that most bears do
though I really can’t say why

Most bears have twitchy noses
with which to search for vittles
me, I’d rather take my trade
to the gourmet supermarket

With twenty-five olive varieties
that supermarket beats the foraging
by either night or in the daylight
and I think I know just why that is

It is because a bear that forages
could be a hunter’s highlight
especially if he caps a bears ass
with a steel jacket thirty-thirty

Bears are hirsute, don’t you know
though I really can’t say why
this one has mustache and Van Dyke
trimmed neatly with a razor

Some bears dance on command, not me
yet I sure like to cavort all night
and do the boog-a-loo and stuff
‘cause, me, I’m a party animal