Welcome to the dVerse Poets bar for Tuesday Poetics. I’m Kim of Writing in North Norfolk and I’m your bartender for today.

I’ve been thinking a lot about animals recently and what kind of animal I would like to be, if it were possible. I love all kinds of animals, there aren’t many that I evenly mildly dislike, except perhaps sharks. But I understand that they all have their place and purpose on the planet. And then I found a poem by Delmore Schwartz, entitled ‘The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me’, which you can read at the Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42637/the-heavy-bear-who-goes-with-me.

What I love about this poem is the man-ness of the bear and the bear-ness of the man; the way the poem lumbers; and the acceptance of the fact that humans have bodily needs. It is a debate of our dual nature. The only creatures on earth possessing a sophisticated consciousness that gives us a moral sense and an understanding of the consequences of our actions, we are compelled to exist in material bodies. All animals crave the physical comforts that this bear seeks. And we are all, animals included, often embarrassed by our bodies.

The challenge is to write a poem, of any length or form, about an animal in a human way or a human in an animal way, highlighting some trait of the animal/human that either sets us apart or brings us together – it’s up to you, just as long as the poem is new.

If you are new to dVerse, here’s how to join in:

• Write a poem in response to the challenge;
• Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mr Linky below;
• There you will find links to other poets, and more will join so check back to see more poems;
• Read and comment on other poet’s work, we all come here to have our poems read;
• Please link back to dVerse from your site/blog;
• Comment and participate in our discussion below, if you like.  We are a friendly bunch of poets.
• Have fun.

Let’s go animal crackers!