The haggard bear limps forward
As the dusk of summer creeps nearer
He looks to the sky for light
But only finds a muddled gray
He looks to the flowers for beauty
But only finds the depressed slouching
He looks to the trees for delightful birds
But only finds abandoned nests
Waving to and fro in the mildly harsh wind

The bear begins to want the deserted forest
Searching for a spark of joyful company
Somewhere

He smells the sap
Dripping from the tall pines
He feels the dry nettles
Squishing under his paws
He tastes the brisk winter air
Filtering downward
He sees the squalor
Falling around his weak body
He can hear the silence
Of sleep
On the edge of his consciousness