Service Bear

A comma-lacking headline

Pings around the Internet,

Bandied by algorithms,

Feral, free of proofreading—

Bear dead after attacking

Hospitalizing man—no

Comma between attacking

And hospitalizing man.

So, after the third viewing

Of the exact same headline

On scattered aggregators,

You might think the bear attacked

An odd comic-book villain,

A one-issue B-lister,

The Hospitalizing Man!

Superman’s in hospital,

Thanks to him; whole cities are

Admitted. He’s like a plague.

He’s Hospitalizing Man.

But now a bear’s attacked him,

And it’s beyond him to send

Wildlife straight to ICU.

Man and bear both meet grim ends.

You grin an ironic grin,

Given it’s too late for you,

Already in hospital.

But maybe, if you get out,

This time you won’t have to go

Back in, thanks to the bear who

Chewed Hospitalizing Man.