On a Monday afternnon in the cool of autumn, a writer strolls through the Protagonize Zoological Gardens and the writer enters into the imagined soliloquies of the members of the menagerie.  The writer comes upon a bear, a once mighty and fierce  brown Grizzly, but now in the twilight of his glory.

I Am Bear, Hear Me Growl

I am Bear, hear me growl, or at least, listen for the echoes of that barrel-chested roar I used to send through the northern timbers. 

I was once king of that wilderness.  When I thundered, the wild about me thundered.  When I slept, the subjects of the realm walked by with cautious, quiet care.

I am Bear.  I used to rise up to become a giant of claw and teeth, to fend off those who dared challenge my reign.  I used to stand and sniff the air, catching the scent of those foolish enough to cross my path.

I used to fish the salmon, waist-deep in the icy mountain waters.  With one swat of my paw, I snatched life from another and made it my own life's sustenance.

I am Bear.  I would snarl at the eagle in the highest tree and face down the cougar glaring down from the rocks.  I would turn my muzzle into the freezing wind and endure for months the deathly cold.

I am Bear. I have always been and will always be. 

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Author guidance for This story

Join me in writing some monologues from the minds of the animals in the menagerie. Give them character. Practice the art of personification.

updated Nov 12 '08 by TheRiverTalker