Poetry Sunday (5/5/24 edition)

With all of the meltdowns going on over whether women are safer in the woods with a man or a bear, I thought this one timely...

Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

men and bears 
both reek of danger 
they want you on their plate
but the beauty of a bear is this—
he’ll finally hibernate 

because when a man 
runs wild 
a woman always dies
at least bears can’t talk
or lure her in 
with pretty little lies 

so leave the woods
to men and bears
and walk with me through 
space

take a shooting star 
to heaven 
and look god 
right in his face 

say “god please tell me sir
it’s time that you admit
that bears and men are dangerous,
when women don’t submit.” 

and look god in his eye
and click your tongue
and curse
and get back on your shooting star
and set it to reverse 

and when you get 
back down to earth
don’t grab a tent or pack 
the woods don’t need your body
the men don’t need a snack

grab a match
and fan your flame 
and save yourself the trouble
of waiting on an absent god
to find you in the rubble

pick up your torch
and set the woods 
alight across the earth
watch the fire illuminate 
your beauty and your worth 

and when the bears and men 
come out 
lead them to their traps 
lock them up and prosecute 
don’t leave them any scraps 

put the bears in a cage
and coo at their cuteness
then put the men on a stage 
and boo at their rudeness

and if this seems harsh
or too judgmental
i don’t know what to say
at least with bears i’d have a chance
to live another day 

#poemsfortheresistance

From Kaitlin Shetler Poetry