—GONNA GO ROUND IN CIRCLES

 

The Bear

 

I forgot to tell you about the circus bear, how I thought he was fake, a man stuffed inside a fur costume, how the bear rode a large unicycle around the rink, sun glare stabbing through the tarp down on all of us, the bear swatting horseflies away with his paw while the crowd went crazy believing the bear was waving, his mouth beginning to foam, the bubbles perhaps irritating him, so that he licked at the edges of his mouth which made it seem as if he was grinning, which made the mob thunder with joy, until that boy, your older brother, leapt the stubby fence and dared the bear to ride his way, the boy holding out his arms as if preparing to clutch a bedtime pillow, everyone screaming now as the bear pedaled furiously before coming to a coast, then scooping your brother over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, holding him that way, carefully, steadily, until the trainer aimed and hit him square and the bear let go.