"Bear"

"Bear"

It is possible for a man to be a bear and a worm all at once. For a bear mouth - which is sharp - on a bear head - which is very big - to nearly swallow a thing. He can cook breakfast and lift a fork full of eggs to his fat worm's lips which can drip with sticky, yellow yolk.  It can shine like fresh kill on his fur. He can lash his bear tongue around wide and gather the yolk before it drips onto his chest. A bear can pee sitting down. He can drink tea while lifting the pinky of his paw. A man who is a bear and a worm is vulgar.

A bear can go to church. He can style his hair with a blow dryer and pomade and wear a finely tailored suit with a pocket square. He can wear lots of cologne. He'll be too big to sit comfortably, but a bear can squeeze himself into the end seat of a pew and roll down onto his knees to pray and pad down the aisle to take sacrament. A priest will give the sacrament to a bear with worm lips. 

A man can stand upright and walk like a bear. He can be black with hair and you can feel his fat body charge down the hallway at night when he hears you still awake or laughing in your bedroom. You won't see his face, only his shape filling the doorway. You will hear his labored breath and try to silence your own. A bear has a worm between his legs like a dead animal. It will hang there fat like his body and yellow like egg yolk. A man who is a bear and a worm will stand there all night and you won't sleep until he leaves and won't sleep until morning, and when you do, you'll dream of teeth.

- K.C.