We forget nor do we understand
The sacrifice of the bear
The twenty million souls departed
Memories of horrors passed down
Still hard to live for peace today
In a world of threat perceived
Be it real or imagined within his mind
The bear feels safe only within his lair
Should he fear a new empire
Its power through financial stricture
Corporate democracy with no electorate
No visionary to bestride our time
Now he growls from the cave entrance
With narrow view born of memory
While the world outside stares back and snarls
Forgetting his perspective of sacrifice
The bear is strong but he lives alone
War and peace interwoven in his mind
He fears the hunter to this day
Even while the rifle lies in the snow