Of Bears

How well do bears swim?
Do they prefer fish or honey?
What do they dream of on their long winter sleep?
Do they wake each other to share visions of the stars?

What does a bear think when it stands
Stock still and soaking to the bone
In the salmon run, midway up the falls?
Turning water into stone

Do they hold their dreams close
In both paws, cradling those delicate things
Like tea lights, from the breeze
On a moonless night