National Endangered Species Day: “Polar Bear” by J. Patrick Lewis

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Today Is National Endangered Species Day! 

To commemorate the day and raise awareness of one such animal, J. Patrick Lewis sent along his wonderful poem “Polar Bear,” which I am happy to present.

The poem prompted me to look into the polar bear situation a bit more. According to PolarBearsInternational.org, there are only “20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in the world. In May 2008, the U.S listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, citing sea ice losses in the Arctic from global warming as the single biggest threat to polar bears.”

I cannot imagine a world without polar bears and penguins. If only a poem could save them.

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus
Arctic landmass; Alaska, Canada
Russia, Greenland, and Norway.
Population decreasing

Call me Polar Bear, but beauty, fierceness,
courage, and my surroundings have brought
out the poet in the flesh walkers.

To Russians, I am simply White Bear;
to Danes, Ice Bear; for many, Sea Bear.
Among the Inuit, I am Nanuk,
the animal worthy of great respect,
or The Ever-wandering One.

Norsemen, who wear imagination like a garment,
hail me Sailor of the Icebergs, White Sea Deer,
Whale’s Curse, Seal’s Dread. Their poets say
I have the strength of twelve men
and the wits of eleven.

Siberia’s Ket people esteem all bears.
To them I am Grandfather.

The Lapp people point to me and say,
God’s Dog or Old Man in the Fur Coat.
So intelligent, those Lapps.

Remember all my names—or none.
I am the specter on disappearing sea ice,
losing hold.

J. Patrick Lewis

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Home floats away

For more information on Endangered Species Day events, check out the Endangered Species Coalition.

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And to celebrate all animals, endangered and un-, I highly recommend Pat’s anthology The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry. This is a favorite in our house for its incredible photos and two hundred poems by all your favorite poets!

NatGeo-poetry

Thank you for sharing your poem, Pat!

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Magnificence!

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Mamma Bear Liz Steinglass has the roundup over at her place.

AW, SHUCKS!
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See more poems in my poetry video library. 

“Polar Bear” copyright © J. Patrick Lewis. All rights reserved.