Winter Fun!

When polar bears are prone to play, Like wrestlers in the sun, It's typical of cubs to stay, Determined to have fun! They grapple like it's not a fight, Playacting, nothing more, Although they really hold on tight And stand there paw-to-paw! A few snarls here, a few snarls there, Yet parents aren't concerned, It's not as if they just don't care, For that's the way they learned... To stand up for oneself each time, Warm up the blood a while, Just like a mountain meant to climb, To go that extra mile... While cubs observe unspoken rules, They tussle all they can, Yet when they're done, they're not like fools That parents must then ban... Those cubs don't meet a grizzly end, In fact, they look quite glad, For though they fight, each has a friend, So please don't think them bad... Denis Martindale, copyright, September 2013. The poem is based on the magnificent painting by Stephen Gayford called 'Winter Fun'.