Wintering

The term “wintering” was originally used in biology to describe animals adapting to cold seasons. In order to survive winter, they stay or reside in a given place. From this scientific and naturalist etymology came a long line of poetic use; Sylvia Plath, Carol Ann Duffy, and Seamus Heaney are a few of the poets who used the term “wintering” in their work. The concept later became popularized in Katherine May’s book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, where she defines “wintering” in relation to human life. It is this meaning that Pearson builds on in his poem.

Just as plants and animals change their behaviors to survive the winter, humans also must adapt to challenging times. Mirroring the concept of literal winter in human lives, May defines these challenging times as cold and fallow seasons resulting from mental or physical...