Turtles
On the first day, we saw a stick floating on a pond.
With my poor eyesight, I thought it might be a turtle.
You said it was a stick, but beneath the stick
there was a turtle on a bicycle, pedaling his way
across the pond. It’s turtles all the way down, I said.
On the second day, you gave me an index card.
On it was drawn our stick, and beneath the stick
a stack of turtles, one of whom was on a bicycle,
pedaling his way across the pond. These turtles
remind me of someone I loved very much, I said.
On the third day, that someone reappeared
from out of the blue, like a turtle popping its head
above the surface of the water. She asked me
whether there was any hope of reconciliation.
Show me your bicycle, to prove you’re real, I said.
18 December 2012
Auburn, AL
Mmmmmmm… so sad, so sweet… Like life as a turtle, I imagine. Always on the go. House on his back. Thick shell, tender green paws.
I like the idea of traveling with everything you need on your back. I tried it this summer for a while. It was hard, but fun.
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