Poem by Candice Marley Conner: Sleeping Beauty and the Moss-piglet 

In case you are like me and feel a sudden and desperate pressure to transform into a magic productivity machine – now that we are a bit past the holidays, enjoy this beautiful, poetic reminder to slow down, from author Candice Marley Conner.

Candice wrote this poem for the Winter issue of Woolgathering, and I love its cozy message to embrace Winter as a season devoted to hibernation.

By the way, if you are looking to get cozy with a good book, check out Candice’s YA novel: The Existence of Bea Pearl

Sleeping Beauty and the Moss-piglet 

By Candice Marley Conner

Sleeping Beauty slept for a hundred years—

but was she cursed

or was the enchanted sleep

one witch’s way to save

her from a life

the three meddling fairies chose,

not her?

A moss-piglet is invincible

resilient to heat to cold, pressure,

radiation, starvation, dehydration.

O u t e r  S p a c e.

They have survived all five known mass extinctions.

They can sleep for decades

if conditions aren’t favorable

for sustaining life.

What is winter but an enchanted,

protected sleep?

A time that tells you it’s okay to slow down.

Winter says: dear one,

you have my permission.

Sustaining life means hot cocoa

with extra marshmallows

and cozy blankets

in front of a fire that cocoons

us from the cold.

One needs a kiss to wake.

One a drop of water.

As we winter, sipping the slowdown

from mugs that warm our fingers,

patiently waiting

for the touch of sunbeams

and the showers that will one day come.