Bearhug
by Michael Ondaatje
Griffin calls to come and kiss him goodnight
I yell ok. Finish something I’m doing,
then something else, walk slowly round
the corner to my son’s room.
He is standing arms outstretched
waiting for a bearhug. Grinning.
Why do I give my emotion an animal’s name,
give it that dark squeeze of death?
This is the hug which collects
all his small bones and his warm neck against me.
The thin tough body under the pyjamas
locks to me like a magnet of blood.
How long was he standing there
like that, before I came?
End of the poem
15 random poems
- Valgovinds Boat Song
- Федор Тютчев – Князю Горчакову
- The Pity Of Love by William Butler Yeats
- Projector by Shreekumar Varma
- Владимир Маяковский – Головотяпам
- A Jewish Family In A Small Valley Opposite St. Goar, Upon The Rhine by William Wordsworth
- Leili by Sarojini Naidu
- Montefiore poem – Ambrose Bierce poems | Poems and Poetry
- Forgiveness by Zaklina (Jacqueline) Filipova- Svekjarovska
- Fleeting Thoughts by Mac McGovern
- Doomes-Day: The Sixth Houre by William Alexander
- I Sing the Body Electric. by Walt Whitman
- Ralph to Mary poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- A seed’s destiny by Neelam Sinha
- Impromptu on Mrs. Riddell’s Birthday by Robert Burns
Some external links:
Duckduckgo.com – the alternative in the US
Quant.com – a search engine from France, and also an alternative, at least for Europe
Yandex – the Russian search engine (it’s probably the best search engine for image searches).

Michael Ondaatje (b. 1943) is a renowned Canadian author and poet. He is best known for his novel “The English Patient,” which won the Booker Prize and was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. Ondaatje’s works often explore themes of identity, memory, and the impact of war. He has received numerous accolades for his contributions to literature and is considered a significant figure in contemporary Canadian literature.