We burrow deep into the ground, down
six feet where the earth stays warm in winter.
We build small chambers we curl up in, and
we coat the chambers with mucus that keeps
our skin moist, helps us breathe.

We go dormant, like hibernation, in a state of
suspension called estivation. we stay in that
state without eating or reproducing until the
snow and the freezing cold is gone. And we
rise back up to the dangerous ground
where we risk getting eaten by birds or
ripped from our world for fish food by humans.

Bob Boyd