P O E T R Y
A Recovered Drug Addict Recalls A Longabsent Acquaintance
DREW S . COOK
— OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST
FEBRUARY 14
T
HE blunted molars of the continent lean in , here , where I lean out , looking down a grey-green slope of lichen-crusted rock . Beyond the last fall-off , a black bear
pulls open the stump of a loblolly pine , pushing its face into the sundered rot . Holding my breath I hear — first — the air at rest , then the wet bray of tongue against
wood . I wait , listening , until the stump is spread across a thick bed of uncrushed needles . Rising , the bear waddles west : a swift stream lies beyond the next rise , watering
a thorny knot of blackberries . After it passes from sight , I head east , south , down .
26