Felicity Teague

To hibernate? 
     Late December, 2025

At first, I think the small and silent blob
that’s in the ceiling corner overhead
might be a spider, legs curled up in shock,
or napping rather stiffly – maybe dead?

I shuffle closer slowly, peer again;
it’s not a spider! It’s a little clump
of ladybirds, as many as sixteen,
and resting very snugly, head to rump.

Returning to my chair, I sit and smile,
and wonder what it’s like to hibernate
with fifteen friends, in red-and-black attire;
next year, perhaps, I’ll aim to set a date.

We might miss feeling festive, I suppose,
unless our torpors somehow took us through
a garden party portal! Sun-warmed stones
and fruity treats, washed down with flower dew. 

Felicity Teague (Fliss for short) lives in Cheltenham, not far from Pittville Park and its wonderful wildlife. She works in the gig economy and edits Well Met, a metrical poetry showcase.  Her poetry has appeared in a number of journals and she has published two collections; she is currently assembling her third. She also enjoys art, films, music, and photography.