# Great Poem about Tortoises



## Redmesa (Mar 10, 2012)

(I thought some of you might enjoy this poem, which does - like all good poetry - somehow concentrate the essence of "Tortoiseness"



Turtle

Kay Ryan

Who would be a turtle who could help it?
A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,
She can ill afford the chances she must take
In rowing toward the grasses that she eats.
Her track is graceless, like dragging 
A packing-case places, and almost any slope
Defeats her modest hopes. Even being practical,
Sheâ€™s often stuck up to the axle on her way
To something edible. With everything optimal,
She skirts the ditch which would convert
Her shell into a serving dish. She lives
Below luck-level, never imagining some lottery
Will change her load of pottery to wings.
Her only levity is patience,
The sport of truly chastened things.



From Flamingo Watching
Copper Beach Press, 1994


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## Jacqui (Mar 10, 2012)

Thank you for sharing! I have to admit, I am not a poem type of person, but it does seem nice.


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## tweeter (Mar 10, 2012)

I had to laugh at the "four-oared helmet", that's a perfect description 

Thanks for sharing!


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 10, 2012)

Great!


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## Redmesa (Mar 11, 2012)

Funny poem, I thought. Glad that you all enjoyed it. My favorite lines are:

Her only levity is patience,
The sport of truly chastened things


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