Carefully emerging from social seclusion
we join the ranks of world famous hibernators
_______hedgehogs, wood frogs,
_______turtles, snakes, snails,
_______bumblebees, bats and bears
fellow creatures that innately understand the
when and why of laying low when it counts
no succumbing to social, financial or party pressures
untempted to prematurely end their sequestration
how is it such creatures with intellects far different
than ours so ably surpass our survival drive
their stimulus is to check it is time to safely raise
metabolism, heart rate and temperature
by following nature’s wisdom
Poem by Eric Burgoyne
Eric Burgoyne is a poet living in Haleiwa, Hawaii. His degrees are from Reading University, Berkshire, England, and the University of Utah. Later this year he completes a master’s degree in Creative Writing at Teesside University, Middlesbrough, England. He hibernates year round in the islands.