Mysterious Groundhog Life

author's mote:

Every day should be Groundhog Day.


MYSTERIOUS GROUNDHOG LIFE

When I saw the groundhog
waddling along--
grubbing just to survive--
I saw myself
and suddenly my dream
of being an eagle in high flight
felt like a lie:

a fantasy I use
to distract myself
from the plain truth
of my groundhog life

with its daily routine of mundane chores
made worse by incessant small frustrations.

But then
as I continued to watch
that humble creature work
I began to marvel
at the force in its frame--
does the fodder
of wildgrass and grubs
provide all that energy?--

maybe the body also draws
from some higher source.

Whatever the case may be
in that moment, I witnessed

the mystery of life
in a life quite common

and felt again
the mystery of my own life--
the mystery of our groundhog life.

My wonder then lifted me
high above this flat ground.

So maybe the sages were right
when they told us:
you must first embrace
this lowly earth
before you can realize
your dream of flight.

40 New Fables: ebook
myth steps blog © 2020, Michael R. Patton