True: maybe the panda bear baby
had never met a man
and thus could not guess
just who these intruders were,
but the crudely costumed humans,
scooping him up in loose fake fur
that barely covered their gloves,
didn’t trick him.
Or maybe they did:
and he grew up
deeply believing that bears
hummed and hugged
when they held little cubs,
and so never seeing
the limits of his species,
he, too, kissed his infants
and blessed them into bed.
Backyard Apricots 