The "Bushed" Man
Birney's poem "Bushed" describes a man who has been lost in the woods too long. Whether he's truly lost or not is debatable because the man simultaneously seems to adore his environment and to detest its oppressiveness. He participates with nature in a symbiotic way, as if he belong there now. The title of the poem, however, reminds the audience that at the very least this man has sacrificed social conformity to his adventure in the wild.
The Himalayan Bear
The bear of "The Bear on the Delhi Road," as a character, seems to be a pretty typical bear. He aggressively responds to threats and potential prey, even though that greatly complicates his keepers' task. As a symbol of nature itself, this bear gains more value. His relationship to his keeper's is one of subjugation, but he's promised to be care for and treated kindly because even the men recognize that their subsistence depends also on the bear's survival. Seemingly they invite the bear to trust them, while conceding that the bear will retain its animal instinct. Nature cannot be tamed, but these men seem to understand that they must work harmoniously with nature to accomplish their human goals.
The Men of Kashmir
From "The Bear on the Delhi Road," these two men are men of paradox, guiding a bear to a village to dance for the people. They are described as "peaceful both these spare/men of Kashmir." Since Kashmir is a region contested and occupied by three different countries, it is naturally a liminal place, representing conflict. Describing the bear keepers as peaceful makes them ironic figures, defying their social expectations. Rather than conflict, they seem to be engaged in survival. They risk their lives catching and training this bear in order to profit from its performance as travelling entertainers, but their relationship to the bear appears realistic in that they treat it as a volatile, deadly threat but also as a living being upon which their survival depends.
