The Bear

A short poem depicting a bear and a rose. A symbolism which mirrors my once high school sweetheart from what seemed like centuries ago.

There once was a bear so grizzly and proud

 

A conqueror of land, animals shiver at his very sound

 

A brute to the others, a shadow among the trees

 

Kept order in the forest, bringing foes to their knees.

 

The bear had a weakness and this was true

 

A bud of rose that grew and grew

 

It was his own little flower, so timid and shy

 

He swore he'll never hurt it or cause it to cry.

 

The bear was happy with his little bud of rose

 

He was loving and gentle after all, it shows.

 

The flower grew steadily within his care.

 

With all it's dew and nectar for the world to share.

 

Yet a rose, though beautiful, was never without a thorn

 

Through millions of years never has a thorn-less rose been born.

 

The bear was ignorant of the pain a rose could bring

 

But it came to him like of water in a spring.

 

The bear pricked his gentle paw on the sharp end

 

A rush of pain, sorrow and betrayal it send

 

A rush of anger seeped into his vein

 

He gnawed and slashed and showed his reign.

 

The poor little flower was shredded to bits

 

So did the bear after his agonizing fits

 

He left the rose wilting and brown

 

And left the woods with more than a frown.

 

Sorrowful years had long passed

 

The little bud was standing at last

 

She grew steadily but was now red and tall

 

Till one day she heard a distant call.

 

It was the bear; he was back.

 

Crying for forgiveness for the attack.

 

The rose pondered and thought  with a prance

 

Will she ever give the bear a chance?

Author's Note

The photo is not mine, credits to the owner.

Reviews

[Damien Ridge]

The poor bear! Feeling betrayed like that, I kinda felt bad. Such a beast but had a heart for this rose. Of course the rose did nothing to begin with, it's but a rose with thorns, the bear was ignorant of that. Wow this was actually a really good story/poem. Thank you for sharing it!

[Abigail Latoreno]

Thanks for reading. I'm very new here and I'm so glad to see someone reading my first work.

[Damien Ridge]

Of course!

[Tony Jordan]

We do often hurt the one's we love - that's for sure. And some say you cannot hurt those whom you truly love. But there's the paradox. Which view is right?
An understanding rose would forgive but always be wary methinks. Quite powerful imagery. Might scare a child...

[A little flame]

Wonderful storytelling and powerful imagery. I wish the ending was more satisfying. I want to know what happens next. I feel like I need some closure after this sweet, but heart wrenching story.

[Abigail Latoreno]

Aww thank you so much, I really appreciate your review. Well I do agree the ending is quite vague but maybe it deserves have a nice little part 2; we shall see.

[sagor777]

loved your poem. you just animated your poem and i could sense and see it in your words.

[Abigail Latoreno]

Thank you so much for taking the time to read it. I'm glad you like it

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Just goes to show what the results are if we do not accept our diversities - great write, good imagery and poignant message - well written! PS to forgive is divine!

[Abigail Latoreno]

Thank you so much for the review. Im glad you like it and I appreciate the advice. I think you are the only person who help to answer the question and I fully agree with you on that.

[emipoemi]

This is a very intriguing story of a bear and rose.....to some extent it reminds me of The Little Prince. If I may, though, provide you with a few notes on it, I would like to say that despite the strong imagery, and good story telling, the musicality gets wordy and wonky here and there to be able to flow smoothly, and there are also a couple of lines that don't quite make sense (which are merely worded as they are to get the rhyme in), such as Last Stanza Line 2....the bear was crying out for forgiveness while attacking again? doesn't quite compute.....you seemed to be wanting to mean that the bear was crying out for forgiveness for having attacked previously. This is a splendid start. I much enjoyed the story, and if the musicality were to be tweaked to perfection, and those relatively incomprehensible lines fixed, this would be a gem. Good start!

[Abigail Latoreno]

Thank you so much for your review. It is very informative. And yes, now that I think of it, that line is confusing. Frankly it was what came out in the rush of the moment and I never considered to question it afterwards; rookie mistake. I will certainly work on that and apply your advices. I can't thank you enough for your help.

[emipoemi]

any time. always happy to help.

[Carol Cashes]

I saw a direct correlation between how people can be cruel to the very things they love when they gut-react to hurt. I liked this, others can advise you on the various technical points of poetry - I am not a poet - but, I do know what can hold water with a theme and carry it to fruition. Nicely done.

[Abigail Latoreno]

I'm very happy to know that you liked my work. I admit that I have no idea on the technicalities of poetry and I am very eager to learn. I'm glad to be able to share my work and give a message. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review.

[Ellie Qtz]

I think this was one of the sweetest poems I have ever read, I didn't have to take a break to think 'what just happened?' It is beatifully written, and I really want to see more like this!

[Abigail Latoreno]

I am flattered to hear that, thank you so much. It does have a storybook feel to it and I'm happy to know it actually works.

[writ rajat]

Very nice but excellently written ......

[Abigail Latoreno]

Thank you so much

[Poetic Beauty]

I love the details and the imagery in this piece. It is relatable and has a moral to the story. Love how you ended it with a question not answered. Real life doesn't always have answers

[Abigail Latoreno]

Thank you so much for the review and I am happy to know that you enjoyed it. True, sometimes life or destiny or whoever it is pulling the strings anwers it for us.

[apennylate]

Oh... Well then... This was actually... Bits and fits of agonizing wit... Has a thorn-less thorn rose ever been born, as we bore no scorn... I hope... This had a gorgeous flow landscape to it, and wordplay that depicts a strong sense of image-command... A bear and rose... I loved it, and am a fan... Sharply penned...

[Abigail Latoreno]

I am honored by your words. Thank you so much and I'm glad you enjoyed it

[apennylate]

Very much so, my pleasure