On the Likelihood of Bears and Change

I am watching for bears this morning
out the wide window of a friend
who insists there are bears
in the woods I watch.

But watching for bears — waiting –
is a futile pursuit, as bears
will come and go at their leisure
neither here nor there at your reckoning.

Neither here nor there but where and when they please —
bears — you can wait and worry all you like
but when the bear is ready to reveal itself
only then does it appear, and only then should you worry.

Only then should you worry – wonder:
should I lie down and make for dead
or be brave in the face of all that I fear?
Only then. Wonder.

Poem ©2018, Jen Payne.