Bears

By James McDermott

there are several types of bear Asian

Black American Black Brown adult males

have large bodies stocky legs small rounded

ears shaggy hair big paws for bears staring

is an aggressive act bears snort moan blow

tongue click jaw click lip pop bears claw bears bite

bears rub themselves up against trees to leave

their scent to mark territory bears like

to dominate bears love fresh meat bears feast

on anything bears are hunted their flesh

their fur in sub cultures bears are worshipped

bears are seen as father figures bears are

sometimes made to jig for entertainment

bears cubs don’t just live in forests Google

defines bear as mammal toy to carry

a weight to be rugged shaggy man’s man

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James McDermott's spoken word collection 'Manatomy', longlisted for Polari's First Book Prize 2021, is published by Burning Eye and their pamphlet 'Erased' is published by Polari Press. James's new pamphlet which explores the queerness of nature is forthcoming in December 2022 from Broken Sleep Books. James's poems have been widely published in magazines including Poetry Wales, 14 Poems and The Cardiff Review.