All Porcupines Float on Water

All porcupines float on water, so it says

On the screen in my workplace lift

Usually reserved for weather reports

And current Covid guidance

This is weird, and I like it

This peculiarity in a place so serious

At the tail end of a pandemic

Though I’m wondering if it’s altogether true

There must be some porcupines

Who are poor swimmers

Or who are scared of the water

Because a family member

Shoved them into a swimming pool

At the age of six, and they never recovered

Though I suppose, the fact stands

Any animal will float on water

Regardless of how they got there

I still have a few seconds

In this peculiar pause

So I find my way

To a peaceful pond, in the middle of a wood

And I float, limp

On the warm rolling current

The sun shining through trees

And I breathe

Thinking of the world

Outside this metal box

Which shudders to a stop

And I’m left wondering

What the weather will be like today

Not that I’ll get to see it