November devours me
until I envy the groundhog,
high on her haunches,
stuffing her face with blueberries
before her long winter sleep.
I cannot hibernate, like her,
but I crave that state of minimal activity.
A metabolic depression which would leave me needing nothing, not even air.
I wish to disappear for a little while, get lost underground,
revel in the solitude, and listen to the sound of my slowing heart beat.
My sedated breath oozing what’s left of my internal heat,
my body temperature submerging to below freezing.
Let me sleep through November,
I promise to wake when the warmth returns.
Maya Fillion-Ritchie (she/her) is a College third-year majoring in Psychology. She is from Toledo, where she lives in a historic neighborhood right outside of downtown. Maya was inspired by the groundhogs in her neighborhood when she wrote “Hibernation.”
