Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MY FIRST PIECE OF BEAR, by WILLIAM STEWARD GORDON First Line: In the fall of '95, / while the boys were on the drive Last Line: And not struggle with your first piece of bear. Subject(s): Animals; Bears; Hunger; Hunting; Hunters | ||||||||
In the fall of '95, While the boys were on the drive A-roundin' up the cattle on the range, A trapper friend of mine Caught a bruin, fat and fine, For the mountains of Nehalem nothin' strange. And he cut me off a piece, And I fried it in the grease, And I thought I had a morsel very rare; But it smelled so kind o' funny, Like a mess of fish and honey As I sized up my first piece of bear. But nothin' could be finer, And a hungry "Forty-niner" Would have eaten more than that for his share! But my stomach kept objectin', And I sorter sat reflectin' Whether I could really eat a piece of bear. And it kept a kind o' stickin', And I thought I felt it kickin', As I swallowed at my first piece of bear; Then I braced against the table, With a look the ancient fable Said the Trojans in a battle used to wear. And I just shut my eyes And pounced upon my prize, Like I didn't have a minute for to spare; And I guess it holds to reason That you needn't stop to season, When you get a fellow hungry as a bear. And oftentimes you'll find That your taste is in your mind When you're turnin' up your nose in the air; If you didn't know its name, You could eat it and be game, And not struggle with your first piece of bear. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LAMENT OF QUARRY by LEONIE ADAMS KILLDEER by KENNETH SLADE ALLING THE YOUNG FOWLER THAT MISTOOK HIS GAME by PHILIP AYRES A POEM ABOUT THE HOUNDS AND THE HARES by LISEL MUELLER A HUSTLE FOR THE FAIR by WILLIAM STEWARD GORDON |
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