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17 A฀Reincarnation The green bear died, and came back to life as a green bear, not as a worm or a table or a chair or anything else. He looked around him and said, “Everything looks as it did, except for one thing: a huge patch of my flesh is stuck to the radiator over there. How did I come to be wounded? Why am I incomplete?” A voice said: “You, sir, have offended the gods, such as they are, having forsaken the clay from which you sprang. You are left torn and abandoned in your new life.” “Sir,” replied the green bear, “nought that you can say will make a difference. The tides are won, and the steadfast are uproarious . The green bear is sleepless; he lives again.” Then the green bear smiled, as much as a bear can be said to smile, and looked before him at a distance of many handsprings . The underpinnings were narrow, but he stood dusty and stodgy in his new life, almost an advertisement for a cigar. 01.Poems.1-64_Fried.indd฀฀฀17 11/28/05฀฀฀12:33:18฀PM ...

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