Keeper of the Pines

[Verse]
You leave your pawprints by the creek
Black fur combed with burrs and leaves
I set a jar of honey down
You take it past the edge of town

[Chorus]
Bear, bear, keeper of the pines
Carry winter in your hide
When the first thaw lifts the ground
Will you turn and circle round?

[Bridge]
One slow step, then five
Three beats, still alive

[Outro]
The creek runs on
Your prints are gone