Hedgehogs
We’ll while away an idle hour
and ponder Arthur Schopenhauer:
philosopher, aesthete, and mystic
whose thoughts were often pessimistic.
Upon our social situation
he offered up a speculation
by claiming that a small array
of humble Erinaceinae,
while nestling to thwart their chills
must navigate each other’s quills,
and they, enrobed in spiny tips
resemble the relationships
that humans have with one another.
We sometimes wound our sister, brother,
although we truly care for them a
lot: therein lies the dilemma.
Josh Nixon is an English teacher in Hickory, NC. He mainly writes poems, songs, and stories to amuse his students. He also enjoys spending time with his kids, listening to and playing music (piano and guitar primarily), listening to podcasts, procrastinating grading his students’ papers, and collecting more books than he can possibly read.