SAD or The Wounded Deer Leaps Highest

by William Hoover

By February even the family rabbit is depressed,
Cowering glumly in its hutch from the burgeoning afternoon sun.
But me? I’m not depressed.
Only delightfully persuaded that the scrambled string of life
Which initially appeared intent on tangling further as the winter deepened,
Will actually, if given a terrific sustained tug,
Slide free in a glorious straightening.
And so this February finds me not depressed
But invigorated!
Gritting my teeth and bearing down
With a happy gleam on this shrunken knot of existence
That is slyly pretending to harden
(Oh Life, you’re such a joker!)
In my hands.

William Hoover writes from central Wisconsin. He also does other things.

Photography by Kenneth Godoy