Wiarton Willie a Poet’s Muse?

     I recently received the following message from a Georgetown friend and subscriber, Helen Tazzman. It’s fun enough to share with everyone:

     “Congratulations on the quality of the articles and Mike’s photos in Escarpment Views.  I will mail in the subscription renewal when I can safely leave home. The Kubota ad was interesting to me as that company bought out the plant where my father worked so that he was their employee before he retired.

     “The Wiarton Willie Festival caught my eye.  Last February, I wrote a poem on Willie:

       Groundhog Day by Helen Tazzman

Of all the pesky critters,

That one would love to zap,

The worst by far is Willie

Who put Wiarton on the map.

He sleeps for most of the winter

And that’s just fine with us,

If only he rested longer,

He’d save us a lot of fuss.

But no, he goes and shows his face,

When he clearly isn’t wanted,

And casts his shadow on the land,

With more winter we’re now daunted.

If only we could hatch some schemes

To keep him in his bed,

Perhaps some downy pillows or carrots by his head,

Whatever groundhogs fancy, we will gladly bring,

If it will surely give us

A longed-for, early spring.

February 16, 2009