Poetry Friday: A Child of the Mountains

Lately I've been dreaming about bears. One bear, in particular.

Brown she-bear from Alaska in Pictures.

I could explain this, my bears-on-the brain. There was a bear attack in my brother's Orlando, Florida neighborhood a few months after he came home to a surprise guest: a bear in his garage -- raiding the back-up refrigerator.

Recently, black bears  have been sighted near where I live in central Maryland.

But my bear is friendly. Like a hiking companion who joins me on long, outdoor walks. I'm not sure why she's visiting my thoughts, but I'm not complaining.

I've used animals as a poetry prompt before, to help elementary schoolers write about their emotions in a way that feels safe. You can read the lesson here (sorry for the wonky formatting).

Today, I'm loving this bear-poem from Gary Snyder.

this poem is for bear 
by Gary Snyder

"As for me I am a child of the god of the mountains."

A bear down under the cliff.
She is eating huckleberries.
They are ripe now 
Soon it will snow, and she 
Or maybe he, will crawl into a hole
And sleep. You can see
Huckleberries in bearshit if you
Look, this time of year
If I sneak up on the bear
It will grunt and run
The others had all gone down
From the blackberry brambles, but one girl
Spilled her basket, and was picking up her
Berries in the dark.
A tall man stood in the shadow, took her arm,
Led her to his home. He was a bear.
In a house under the mountain
She gave birth to slick dark children 
With sharp teeth, and lived in the hollow
Mountain many years.

          snare a bear: call him out:
honey-eater
forest apple
light-foot
Old man in the fur coat, Bear! come out!
Die of your own choice!
Grandfather black-food!
                   this girl married a bear
Who rules in the mountains, Bear!

Read the rest of the poem here.

I love the way that animals -- in our dreams, in mythology and storytelling -- are keepers of the animal-nature in human beings.

I hope the only bears you see on Poetry Friday are in your dreams. For more poetry posts, visit this week's host, Jone at Check It Out.

Poetry Friday -- How Poetry Comes to Me

CityLit Project is taking registrations for my fall poetry workshop. It's through the Write Here, Write Now program.

Poetry Cafe runs eight weeks (first session is Sept. 14). We'll talk about where poems come from, imagery and poems of childhood, list poems, using simile and metaphor, and how to build your own prompt.

Here's a model poem I'll be bringing to our first session, "How Poetry Comes to Me," by Gary Snyder.

How Poetry Comes to Me

It comes blundering over the

Boulders at night, it stays

Frightened outside the

Range of my campfire

The rest of the poem and a bio of Snyder are here.

Want more poetry to come to you? Visit Kate at Book Aunt http://bookaunt.blogspot.com/ -- our Poetry Friday host this week.

Want more info on my workshop?

Poetry Café: Small Plates to Tempt Your Writing Palate

Dates: September 14, 21, 28, October 5, 12, 19, 26, November 2, 7-9 PM

Location: Howard County Center for the Arts

Registration: $175

The Poetry Café is dishing out model poems and writing exercises for you to try.

Instructor: Laura Shovan's poetry has appeared in Lips, The Jewish Women’s Literary Annual, Paterson Literary Review, The Little Patuxent Review, and Joyful online.

Registration forms are here:

http://www.citylitproject.org/index.cfm?page=writeherewritenow