14 dezembro, 2018

Palavras lidas #399

Bear In Mind
by John Martin

A bear is chasing me through a meadow
and I’m running as fast as I can but
he’s gaining on me—it seems
he’s always gaining on me.
I’m running and running but also
thinking I should just
turn around and say,
“Stop it! Stop chasing me. We both
know you aren’t going to catch me.
All you can ever do is chase me. So,
think about it—why bother?”

The bear does stop,
and he sits on his haunches and thinks,
or seems to think. And then
the bear says to me,
“I have to chase you, you know
that. Or you should. And, sure,
we both know I’ll never catch you.
So, why not give us both a break and
just stop thinking about me?”

But, with that said, he gets back on four feet,
sticks his long pink tongue out, licks down
both sides of his snout. Then he sighs, looks
behind himself, then at me and says, “Okay,
ready when you are.”

1 comentário:

Hilaire Belloc disse...

B is for Bear

When bears are seen
Approaching in the distance,
Make up you mind at once between
Retreat and armed resistance.

A gentleman remained to fight.
With what result for him?
The bear, with ill-concealed delight,
Devoured him limb by limb.

Another person turned and ran:
He ran extremely hard.
The bear was faster than the man
And beat him by a yard.

Moral:
Decisive action in the hour of need
Denotes the hero, but does not succeed.