Bears are so sad in summer,
a sadness that is historical β
a sadness over salmon.
The salmon swim upstream,
fewer each year,
farther down from the grizzlies
who wait open-mawed.
Truth is always contingent.
The salmon, too, are contingent.
Salmon, like bears, are social creatures.
They believe in
social contracts,
epistemologies,
rules of etiquette;
sometimes they use swear words.
Bears are so sad in summer.
They reject meta-narratives
like canned sardines.
I, too, am animal,
I, too, am socially constructed.
Bears are so sad in summer,
so bored and hot as they pace,
pink tongues lolling
from rubbery black lips.
Sometimes I donate
to bear sanctuaries.