December is a tough time to live in a swamp. The trees are bare and the clouds so low you can almost jump up and touch them. You need music to stop the highway noise. Today I put on “Island of Sirens” for my friend the swamp rabbit. We commiserated.

“It’s one of them cautionary tales,” the rabbit said, breaking the seal on a Wild Turkey bottle. “Keep your eyes on the prize. Don’t let some siren sing you something so sweet you wanna drop anchor and hear more.”

I watched him guzzle and said, “It’s just a song. It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.”

“It’s a Homer story,” he insisted. “Ulysses tempted by forbidden fruit.”

The rabbit must have slogged through a translation of The Odyssey back in the day. Or he heard Cream’s “Tales of Brave Ulysses.”

“Whatever you say,” I said. “But I think you’ve got the sirens mixed up with Circe.”

“Don’t make no difference. The point is, don’t get off the boat.”

“Or the wagon,” I said, eyeing his half-empty bottle. “You might not be able to get back on.”

Footnote: “Island of Sirens” is by the Philly-based band Nicos Gun. It will be featured on their soon-to-be-released album Dream Vacation.