GRASS-BLADES push up between the cobblestones <br />And catch the sun on their flat sides <br />Shooting it back, <br />Gold and emerald, <br />Into the eyes of passers-by. <br />And over the cobblestones, <br />Square-footed and heavy, <br />Dances the trained bear. <br />The cobbles cut his feet, <br />And he has a ring in his nose <br />But still he dances, <br />For the keeper pricks him with a sharp stick, <br />Under his fur. <br />Now the crowd gapes and chuckles, <br />And boys and young women shuffle their feet in time to the dancing bear, <br />They see him wobbling <br />Against a dust of emerald and gold, <br />And they are greatly delighted. <br />The legs of the bear shake with fatigue <br />And his back aches, <br />And the shining grass-blades dazzle and confuse him. <br />But still he dances, <br />Because of the little, pointed stick.<br /><br />Amy Lowell<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-travelling-bear/
