Back then, they'd chain a bear
in the middle of the bear garden
& let the dogs loose. Iron chains
around a bear's neck don't slow
him too much. A bear will always
make short work of a dog. Shakespeare
said Sackerson did it more than
twenty times to dogs & wildcats
alike. & since most creatures
are naturally afraid of bears, there
wouldn't always be much of a show
in the bear garden. So the handlers
sometimes put the bear's eyes out
or took his teeth to make the fight
more sporting. I believe you need
eyes more than you need teeth
in a fight, but losing either makes
a bear a little less mean. Once baiting
was against the law, some smart
somebody figured coloreds would fight
just as hard if hungry enough.
So they rounded up the skinniest
of us, had us strip to trousers, then
blindfolded us before the fight.
They turned us in hard circles a few
times on the ring steps like a motorcar
engine before pushing us between
the ropes. When the bell rang,
it seemed like I got hit from eight
directions. I didn't know where
those punches came from, but I swung
so hard my shoulder hasn't been right
since because the man said only
the last darky on his feet gets a meal.