A Meeting At Bottle Lake Poem by Raymond Farrell

It happened unexpectedly at Bottle Lake
The blueberries looked succulent, so I decided to partake.
The sparse soil and climate of the Canadian Shield
Conspired to give this bountiful yield.
I concentrated on picking and eating, on and on
Minute by minute until nearly and hour was gone.
I'll just go up and down one more hill
I thought by then I'll have had my fill.
Up I went, picking and eating, without a care
When coming over the top, I met a fat black bear.
He was picking and eating berries as intently as I
We both were surprised to meet each other eye to eye.
Neither of us sought a confrontation that day
So each quickly turned and went the other way.
I back to fishing hoping for a fat brown trout
He back to his foraging about.
Simple yet profound was the lesion I learned that day
The bear taught me it was best just to walk away.
Both of us were neither wrong nor right
So why get into a senseless fight.