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| The New York Times, September 24, 2026 |
They were all there, the bears
that night. They came aware.
They came to stare.
They came that night
for a black tie affair.
The smiling Formosan black bear in his black
leather jacket. Tattoo too.
chip chip chip
chum chum chum
It doesn’t get more American than
a big old grizzly with his Apple pie! But will
this guy share his shares?
hi hi hi
chomp chomp chomp
Why there’s the nasty honey badger bear
who isn’t even really a bear
because there are no bears in South Africa.
crazy crazy crazy
chop chop chop
The spectacled bear of the Amazon
is generally considered to be the gentlest
of bears, so why is this one hanging around
this tough crowd?
sell out sell out sell out sell out
And that one there is not native
to Hawaii, but he built a giant compound
all to himself, all that land and sunshine for
one little curly bear and his fluffy little family.
greedy greedy greedy
more more more
And the honored guests? Why the pandas, of course,
Mean Mean and Wife Wife. Fresh off
the plane. Have they no
shame? Flew from the zoo. Caged
in a rage the uppity tuppity truthy tellers
back home.
bam boo bam boo
bam bam bam
And who is leading them all
in song? The Great Rolly Pooh himself
and Scary Barbie, his absent wife.
AI apocalypse?! Nah! I’ve got
a ballroom to show you!
me me me
me me me
me me me
cha cha cha
Now let’s dance!
Sally Mills is a poet and attorney from Downeast Maine. She studied the Russian Silver Age poets and holds an MPhil on the work of Anna Akhmatova. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in publications including The New Verse News, The Main Street Rag, Sheila-Na-Gig, Rat’s Ass Review, The Esthetic Apostle, and Mobius: The Journal of Social Change. When not writing poetry or practicing law, Sally performs with The Damn, Girls!—Hancock County’s premier country-western girl band.