Thursday morning

An attempt at capturing the possibility of beauty:

Edward Gorey

This image makes me wonder about bears and poets and the kinds of relationships they might have had in the seventeenth century and might have even now. This black and white drawing makes me want to consider the meaning of this imagined and slightly out of balance encounter, where one creature, outsized by the other, stands ready to partake of a sweet offering of sorts. This portrait—with its banner proclaiming "A Future Unremembered Poet of the Seventeenth Century Accepts a Christmas Cookie from the Great Veiled Bear"—makes me want to see only the cordial beauty of this simple exchange.

And just so you know, I do not want to nor intend to survey the possibility of peril or deceit within these ranks. I want to keep this imagining of my own about this improbable duet on a level course of hope and kindness on the part of the creatures.

The two face one another. But their faces do not show me what might be on their minds. Instead, their manner, their posturing, tells of kindness and appreciation, concern and acceptance, and a quietly expressed belief in the principle that all creatures are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. The bear shares a cookie with a boyish looking poet who must stand on a tree trunk in order to be able to reach and, in turn, "accept" such a gift. To me, it seems both creatures have adapted to the quirky circumstances of this unlikely encounter. To make this exchange happen, both the bear and the poet must have taken risks and placed an amount of hope in the potentialities of their meeting. For the bear, it is generosity that encourages trust. For the poet, it is a knowingness that enables him to be brave and receptive.

Over and over, I want to remark, there is sweetness in this encounter of theirs—sweetness of taste and deed and accomplishment.

As for the author of the banner: his words do portend, I must note, a not so wonderful future for this particular poet. According to Gorey, at least as he insinuates with his term “unremembered”, the poet’s words did not live on beyond the century of his lifetime. But for me, I want to suggest, perhaps, that this seventeenth century poet, in his lifetime only, was regarded with respect and admiration for his accomplishments with words. As you can see, he holds himself, within the confines of this remarkable grouping of bear and poet, with a sense of pride—and even an air of confidence shown in his authentic looking poet’s attire. I do imagine/know that when this poet wrote about this cookie exchange, he uttered words of praise for all who were present.

A note to remember and to think on some more:

As for the bear, he wears ice skates for speed on the ice and a veil to denote a demureness to counter his prodigious proportions. Beneath the veil, there is a profiled look of concern and gentleness.