Turtle

“Painted Turtle” by Doug Sharpe

unlovely dignified bearing

longevity marking his shell

time and symmetry shaped

time to ponder to think

deeper down than survival

to grapple with quieter

mysteries questions of

corporeal existence to muse

he must surely have wisdom

his unhurried passage gives

pause to the river course

silences nether woods stills

forest creatures who each

give close listen attending to

even his least rasping words

such is reverence toward

age in the uncertain wild
 

From my book Pieces of Wine