The Bear went over the Mountain -- A Poem

i)
Stretched taut or raveled skein
(darkness or rain)
When I need to appear larger
I look into you

My machinations echo
In your Valhalla Halls
Where stillness aches
A quiet while

Your pontoons a panacea
Upon my body of water
(Lake of Raging Hormones)
I sink like Atlantis

Your apparatus keeps me limber
Your nonchalance a cup
To hold my unfinished dreams
(Or lay them in the sun to dry)

ii)
Like a shadow
Across the floor
Your body's warmth
A bearskin rug before the fire

I burn I burn
I stumble and carouse
I summon demons
And crinkle my nose

Without looking up
(Or losing your place)
An arm snaps out to grip my belt
As I stand sighing at the precipice

You don't click your tongue at me
Or warn, "come away from the edge!"
My dampness soaks through everything
But you never shiver

~Vanessa Turke