Beauty of Imperfection

By Paramita Mukherjee Mullick

(After seeing the cracked wooden bear
at the entrance of the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia)

Oh wooden bear standing tall!
Your pricked up ears and how your hands on the sides fall.
Your snout quite large and round.
The canines showing, a slight fearful look found.
Due to the seasonal changes
There are different temperature ranges.
So there is contraction and expansion going on.
A natural dance, an intricate rhythm and song.
When the days grow longer and the sun’s rays are strong
The wooden fibres absorb humidity and cracks form.
As evening again makes the wood contract.
So cracks are not decay but part of a constant flux which is a fact.
The sculptor fills up the cracks in summer
Just to keep the sculpture fine, it’s not a failure.
The bear is weathered and cracked but not broken.
It is the beauty of imperfection which is spoken.