a stiff neck and a few hours of sleep

bear is brown
in the waiting
woods.

bear is blonde
on the hillside.

bear is black
in the river.

bear is ochre
in the rising
sun.

bear is indigo
in the pale of
moon.

brother bear,
hidden from
our pink need.

sister bear,
quiet to keep
from our gunmetal
fear.

terrified,
slick with
slime and
terrified,
the human
glows soft
and hairless.

the human
does not
remember itself
as family.

the round planet
gives to us
all our color.
gives to us
and allows us
to think we take.