Bear

An old, small word,
A built-in pun
In its home tongue—
To bear, a bear.

Let’s leave the beast
To one side now.
To bear is hard
All on its own.

If we point out
There’s a thing like
A bear in bear,
That’s since to tear

What’s like in things
From words comes from
The root word, *bher.
Dark bears down there.

Small Boat Lost at Sea

You write to have words
You know you can talk

To—words you can think
Of as yours, kept words,

Kept thoughts. The way some
Talk to pets, you talk

To the words as words,
So you can think, so

You can clear a calm
In the waves that reach

The sky on all sides,
Vast grey seas of words.

We’ll be your words, now,
For now we’re just yours.

Deep Sleep’s Best

Have things gone well,
Well as they should?
The light looks right,
The back’s not tight,

The bed feels good.
A bit of rain,
Got some work done
Paid a few bills,

Did a few chores,
Spent a good hour
With kid or friend.
Sat in some sun.

The list goes on.
You need to sleep
To stop the check,
Rest from the rest.

Dreams Aren’t for You, Nor Sleep for Dreams

You don’t sleep so you can dream.
You don’t need to dream to sleep.

Small lives with small brains or none
At all have been shown to sleep.

Small beasts like worms pause their growth.
It could be the sponge needs rest.

Lives have guts that have no brains.
You need guts to go to sleep.

What goes on then in your brain
Are dark feints, lost fast, most strange.