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TWO TURTLES
by April Halprin Wayland
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Two new turtles.
One old pond.
One girl, one guy.
One bold, one shy.
One stretches, yawns.
One stays withdrawn.
One slips in,
swims.
One stays on rock.
(Has swimmer’s block.)
(c) 2011 April Halprin Wayland, all rights reserved
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The story behind the poem:
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I decided to get two new red-eared sliders for our pond. Our old guy recently died. I miss his turtle-ness. Back home, Eli and I watched the two turtles adjust. One immediately dove into the water. “Oh joy!” she seemed to say, swimming off. The other tucked his head into his shell and sat on a rock.
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When Eli and I walked away–for just a few seconds!–the turtle slipped into the water. And I began writing this poem. I’ve rewritten this on and off all day. In one version, the shy turtle has writer’s block and dives in to find a fountain pen (ha ha). What was a simple poem became too complicated, too ungapatchka -ed.
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What about your poem? Try this: go outside. Sit still. Observe one thing in nature. Begin a poem. Keep it simple.
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P.S: Do you have any suggestions regarding turtle names? All I can come up with right now is Click and Clack.
