In Richard Eberhart's, "The Groundhog," the speaker in the poem attempts to come into terms with his own mortality. In June, the speaker discovers a dead groundhog "amid the golden fields." For more than three years the speaker visits the sight where the decomposing body lays several times. As he watches the groundhog's decay over the course of time, the speaker is shown both through his emotions and the decaying of the groundhog, his coming to terms with mortality.

As the speakers visits the body, various description of the crumbling body expresses the speaker understanding towards mortality. The first encounter of the speaker and the groundhog occurs during June. The speaker finds the groundhog "lying dead" in the fields. The speaker views the bareness and helplessness of the body and recognizes the "naked frailty" of life. The sudden sight of death forces the speaker to face shock, realizing...