groundhog philosphy

hibernation's not a
winter thing,
escape is what it's all about,
dodging trouble
as a matador
sidles from the bull,
or a small and scurrying mouse
that holds the shadows
as his own;
i am the groundhog
who comfortably
awaits a better day or time
inside my fortress of solitude,
or perhaps
the willow bending to the wind
as the mighty oak
falls to crashing death,
resisting to the end. . ..

1982