The Celebrated Groundhog

Published by Paula Frew at February 2, 2026

TITLE CREDITS: The Celebrated Groundhog. Poem by Paula Frew. Performed by Sue Cook and edited by Rita Mock-Pike, for the MockingOwl Roost.

Presidents? He’s met two.
Not many, but far more than you.
He’s in a movie with Bill Murray
That everyone saw in a flurry.
He’s quite a huge celebrity,
And his age stretches believability.
He is stout and portly,
As he tells the future shortly.
He’s a bit of a coward, preparing to run
when, at the Knob, he first sees the sun.
How long ‘til the winter’s end?
He tells us over and over again.
We believe him, though it ought to be a crime,
Since Phil is wrong 65 percent of the time.

Want more like this? Try these:

My Favorite Things: Quokkas – Cute Critters
My Favorite Things: Black Cats – Animals
Zoological Capers – Nonfiction
Late at Night – Poetry

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Paula Frew

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Transplanted from Ohio to Kentucky to be near her only daughter and three young grandsons, the author wrote her first poem in the fourth grade. She fell in love with the form and was first published in an anthology at fourteen. A battle with multiple sclerosis has caused her to find her home in a nursing home, where she has found time to craft her poetry as well as time to teach writing to other residents. She has been published in several literary magazines and anthologies, including Ohio Bards and The Walt Whitman Anthology.

You can find Paula on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).