Punxsutawney

2 poems

(x = space)

2 poems

at the h. f. clinic

to the doctor’s well

a doctor type at

the clinic where my

heart failure’s diagnosed

and worked on

blood pressure’s up due

to medication or

some other cause

there’s all the weight from

fluid that is uncomfortable

to feel but since it tends

to kill people by

some kind of drowning I

guess then I should be

grateful and you

know I am

tawny punks

today is

someone’s day

or something’s

thanks to

greeting cards

or causes that simply

want a day

and get authority

to say okay

pizza day

beagle day

greeting card day

with greeting cards

for greeting cards

a day for me

is groundhog day

because there

are no cards

so you can cross

out christmas

or new year’s

or presaged a dismal

valentine’s

and write greetings

from

Punxsutawney

over that

and so practice

spelling

Punxsutawney

C L Couch

Photo by Ralph Katieb on Unsplash

Groundhog didn’t like the late April snow (she was in the middle of nest building when it hit).

[photographer’s caption]

July 18, 2023 3

Live from Punxsutawney

(x = space)

Live from Punxsutawney

Knob

Hollow

Gobbler

Turkey

Groundhog

Burrow

A manufactured life

Goes on tour

Speaking engagements

What is its thesis?

Moved in a cylinder

Men in hats

With groundhog faces

Thousands and thousands

I guess they have

Places to stay

TV, computer cameras

How it can it not

See its shadow?

Phil is not that accurate

Need we wonder

Why

Enjoy the day

Laughter

Celebration

Into spring

C L Couch

Photo by Ralph Katieb on Unsplash

Groundhog didn’t like the late April snow (she was in the middle of nest building when it hit).

February 2, 2023 6

Gobbler’s

(x = space)

Gobbler’s

(3 February 2021)

It’s Wednesday

Phil is back inside the keep

All is well

Yes, it was done

In a cyber way

Phil was social-distanced

Fans were turned away

Tourism dived

Beneath the radar

Of spending consideration

Something again next year

Pity the small towns of

Western Pennsylvania

C L Couch

by Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States – Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, uploaded by GrapedApe, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25167720

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

February 3, 2021 5

Keystone Groundhog’s Day

Keystone Groundhog’s Day

Tomorrow—that’s 2 February—
Is, well, Groundhog’s Day

And since I am in Pennsylvania,
Maybe I should say something
(Maybe not)

The groundhog is a creature
With variants: prairie dogs out
West (USA), like Texas
Armadillos in attitude and in
Treatment, so I’m told

Nuisance-being that somehow
Makes a hole we all attend to
On this day

Origins are fought over (the day,
That is, not the groundhog
Itself, made in the perfect,
Chortling humor of the mind
Of God), though likely it’s a time
And rite of spring brought up
Into present cultural moment

There is a town, and here it is
(Here’s how it’s spelled)

Punxsutawney (too bad—Spell-
Check defeated me again, this
Year by only one letter)

Here in top hats people (not
The beast—and I don’t know
Why anyone wears the hats)
Will withdraw the toothy animal
From its artificial den atop a
Hill in or near the town (pardon
Me, the borough, there being
No towns in Pennsylvania,
Municipally speaking, save one
Town for another day)

And then winter’s prophecy-
Predictor takes over the day via
Shadow—and that’s all

But I like the day because, unlike
Christmas or Easter or Thanksgiving
Or Memorial Day, we have not
Wrecked this one

There are no Groundhog-Day cards
(I know of), so you must make your
Own—and thus enjoy the day (or

Maybe not) in whichever way you
Groundhog-like

(Legend has it that on this morning, if a groundhog can see its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it cannot see its shadow, spring is on the way. InfoPlease.com.)

ShenandoahNPS / Foter.com / CC BY via Google Images