Survival of the fittest
Pacific waters left behind
They swam two thousand miles to find
Their long abandoned birthing ground
Alaskan rivers, homeward bound
The bears were waiting patiently
And watching at the estuary
To glimpse the salmons’ first arrival
So crucial for the bears’ survival
The salmon battled past the bears
But some fell victim unawares
The shallow waters posing danger
The bear cubs snatching at a stranger
The salmon hid in deeper pools
And showed the bears they were no fools
They’d wait escape until the rain
Came down to change the vast terrain
The bears stood firm, the torrent raced
Through ten-month hunger they were braced
To catch the elusive leaping feast
And satiate within the beast
In every thousand, four were caught
Between the jaws, and cubs were taught
To fish and eat to stay alive
To hibernate and so survive
The salmon swam until they found
Their old familiar birthing ground
And on the gravel spawned their young
Then died because their work was done
Their rotting bodies fed the earth
Ensuring the continual birth
Of vegetation in that land
Designed by nature’s skilful hand
by S Fielding
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