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Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. Leonard Cohen

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

On Finding a Baby Turtle


source

I tried to get a photo of the baby box turtle I uncovered this past weekend, but it re-hid itself before I could get my camera! This is what it looked like, though. So cute!

Perfectly small
Mistaken for a stone at first
Perfectly small
Tiny turtle begins to crawl
In one direction, then reversed
In piles of dead leaves, he’s submersed
Perfectly small

16 comments:

Janine Bollée said...

So sweet.
Is this a per, the one you have I mean, or do they occur in the wild where you live?

Janine Bollée said...

pet... so sorry. I do check, but never enough.

Jinksy said...

Aaaah! lol

Buddah Moskowitz said...

Whimsical and fun, this is.

Margaret said...

The journey these little guys make. My daughter saw one in the road months past and we stopped all traffic and she carefully picked it up to transport it to the side ... and it was a baseball glove. ha ha. (but we have saved numerous others ... the other day a small snapping turtle!

Fireblossom said...

He's neat!

Hannah said...

Your refrain is perfectly pefect for this especilly the last one!!

Hannah said...

*especially!

TCPC said...

very neat..wonderful!!

not displayed said...

They can move pretty quick when they want to. I love our turtles, always so entertaining

Other Mary said...

What a little gem of a poem. This one makes me smile.

Helen said...

This is sweet! Folks of all ages can appreciate it ...

Marian said...

oh, love this one!! just love.
last year we found the teensiest baby snapping turtle on the bike path! he was *so* small that i was able to just pick him up to carry him to safer environs. but, it was cute and funny to watch him (and show my kids) being seriously fierce with outrage about the indignity of being lifted up by a dreaded human! cool lesson, too, in how to tell a snapper from a box turtle, and what to do with snappers, i.e. DON'T pick em up! hah.

Kerry O'Connor said...

The form so perfectly suits your subject!

Kay L. Davies said...

Such a cute poem for such a cute critter. I haven't seen a turtle in the wild for many, many years. I would love to see one again.
Thanks for this reminder of life, and spring, when many hearts are heavy.
K

Lolamouse said...

Aprille,

The one I found is wild. Box turtles are endangered but still around here in Southern MD. People try to keep them as pets and they usually die : (