Sonnet #411

 The bear will take your heartbeat and there's nothing

you or I can do about it, not because they're bears

Huge, hulking things with claw and teeth, there's

nothing to fear from them because the city is watching

Right? We know they aren't supposed to have our hearts

We know that bears cannot be trusted not to rage

a passing blow, a scrape, a bite, and even in the age

where bears know better, they can only keep their smarts

for so long before the training breaks, so shouldn't we

take the heartbeats somewhere else? Somewhere

with no constant threat of claw and teeth, shouldn't we

take the children where there are no bears?

The rules are clear: wait for the bears to hurt them,

Before your heartbeats can be taken from them.