The Bear
Charlie Fisher saw the bear
run across the gravel road
in front of his car lights.
The beast woke up the Baughns
in the middle of the night
banging around in their trash cans.
I was 8 years old
and imagined this bear
was the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Charlie and Lula Fisher lived
on a small farm
on the south edge of Park Lake,
a ghost town, but people still lived there.
They didn’t have any kids.
You couldn’t do this.
You couldn’t do that.
One dark blue summer night
while Mom and Dad were visiting
with Charlie and Lula,
and my sisters were sitting quiet …
I snuck outside to watch
for this Tyrannosaurus Rex sized bear.
Standing on the sidewalk
in front of Fishers’ house
surrounded by the woods
and prehistoric stars,
I could hear the wind in the trees.
The closer I listened
the more the wind sounded
like a bear breathing.
I started feeling scared
standing in the dark alone
with that giant bear
closeby maybe watching me.
I needed a safer place to hide.
My parents’ car was parked
in the driveway in front of the barn
way on the other side of the yard.
Now the rule in my family was:
NEVER GET IN THE CAR
NEVER PLAY IN THE CAR
IF YOUR MOM OR DAD AREN’T WITH YOU!
But I kept forgetting rules.
I decided to take a chance
and hurry across the darkness
to our car.
There I would be safe inside.
To start off quick
I counted to myself.
“One, two, three, GO!”
I RAN ACROSS THE GRASS
FAST AS I COUD
JUMPED IN THE CAR,
LOCKED THE DOORS
AND ROLLED THE WINDOWS UP TIGHT!
After a few minutes
of lying on the front seat,
I sat up and peeked cautiously
over the dashboard.
In the moonlight I could see
past the shadowy barn
into the woods
on the far side of Charlie’s bean field.
Watching for a while
I noticed something
like the shape of a giant bear
walking through the woods.
He was standing on his hind legs.
He was darker than the night.
He was so big he could
hardly squeeze through the trees.
As he walked he spread the trunks
with his front legs
he used like arms.
I could see the tree tops swaying
in the starlight above him.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
I was in trouble
for being in the car by myself
with the doors locked.
I wanted to interrupt Mom and Dad’s lecture,
and yell,
“NEVER MIND! THE BEAR IS COMING!”
But kept quiet
with my hands over my mouth.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex sized bear shadow
was coming closer
across the field.
Dad started the car
and backed around.
He steered down the driveway
and turned right
on the gravel road
headed home.
I was watching out the back window.
I saw the bear’s giant shadow shape
like a storm cloud
looming around the corner of the barn.
Then we were safe
over the hill.
Next morning I found out
Mom had made plans with Lula
to return and pick strawberries.
I did not want to go.
I figured the bear had slept in the garden.
The strawberry patch
would look like my messed-up bed.
As Mom drove in the driveway
everything was normal.
The sun was shining.
The birds were singing.
Lula was watering her flowers.
Later that morning
while we were picking strawberries
the real bear came out of the woods.
The animal stood about as tall as a car tire.
He ran along the fence line
on all four legs
like a normal forest citizen,
On the far side of the field
the bear faded like a piece of night
back into the shade
of the tree tops.
He’s been living there ever since
growing bigger, bigger and bigger.