Beauty and the Beast Revisited

Met a bear who proclaimed himself to be a man;
knew the instant I spotted him – lumbering
gait approaching – that he was an animal,
feared for my safety, would have retreated

stayed at my mother’s side – sheltered in
familiarity – were I not so fixated on his
blatant woundedness. Sympathy blinding
sensibility, i listened, hypnotized

by the whiteness of his exposed skin –
wanted to believe the veracity of his
tales of conversion – could visualize
him sitting in church, imagine the

horror of the congregants melting,
as I was, into acceptance, drinking
in his words, hearts soaring at his
professed abstinence from sins

of the flesh; none of immune to
fairy-tale endings; faith above all.
Left the sanctity of mother’s fold;
followed him to his wooded lair;

read humility into his minimalist
housing, swept away his cobwebs
and my dreams, determined to
find fulfillment in domesticity.

The forest has it own story to tell –
nature does not lie – a beast does not
its essence forget, in time his true
temperament emerged, and I, lost

withered into a crumpled ball,
a wisp of a character, weakened,
disheartened; could not bend
myself to become either bear

nor Goldilocks; could not tame
his insatiable grumblings nor
abide long winters confined;
discovered too late the folly

of my girlish fantasies, learned
that sympathy did not beget love,
and denying instincts did not alter
the fact that a bear is not a man.

(Poem first appeared here April 2016. Couldn’t resist the accompanying image – photoshopped by yours truly)

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VJ

Permission to write, paint, and imagine are the gifts I gave myself when chronic illness hit - a fair exchange: being for doing. Relevance is an attitude. Humour essential.

36 thoughts on “Beauty and the Beast Revisited”

  5. Amazing composition, VJ. It can be so hard to see reality behind the facades so carefully crafted. We tend to blame ourselves for not seeing the reality, instead of putting it on the deceiver. You seem to have achieved some balance here.

    Liked by 3 people

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  13. The poem in its entirety is incredible, but this really jumped out at me.

    nature does not lie – a beast does not
    its essence forget, in time his true
    temperament emerged, and I, lost

    withered into a crumpled ball,
    a wisp of a character, weakened,
    disheartened; could not bend
    myself to become either bear

    nor Goldilocks

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

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