A teacher asks:
Why stop your car
Why get out
Why move the turtles?
Let them be
In the road
And if they make it,
They make it.
Why interfere
With things?
Let the universe unfold,
The teacher says.
I have a reply
That cannot be an answer,
Though it is all I have:
Inside their shells
Are hearts that break
And bleed
Under the weight
Of what happens
On these roads.
I have seen it
On these roads.
The universe is
Mine
And theirs
To unfold.
We own it.
Note: Indurated, meaning hardened, got me thinking of turtle shells and how evolution has deemed this external hardness to be a useful survival tool. Thinking of turtles got me to thinking of all the turtles I scoot across the road in springtime. And how I hate seeing them dead in the road. Once I mentioned this little survival game project to a friend and he asked why. There was a point to the question, of course. The point was to get me to the conclusion I came to here--that we shape our lives, that life does not simply happen to us, that we can choose to be kind and to make a life of it. Like the Buddha. (Thanks to Mojo for this link to some great video and info on some Florida turtles.)
46 Comments
Oh Sandy, I'm right there with you getting out to move the turtles... Lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteAnd will you join our Maxine meme? Great! I look forward... :)
I would move the turtles too. What a lot to think about in your poem- I love that! Off to look up the meaning of the prompt because I do not have a clue to it- lol. Stay warm and have a wonderful weekend~
ReplyDeleteAmen Sister, get out there and move those turtles, shoo those frogs off the road, put those baby birds in a bush off the ground out of the way of feral cats, pat that kid on the back, give a hug to the old lady at the check out counter.
ReplyDeletewe can't always look the other way and wouldn't want others too if it was us needed assistance. good for you.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks, sincerely.
ReplyDeleteTurtle moving is a fun experience to share with others too. What a great gift to nature.
ReplyDeleteKindest regards,
Tom Bailey
We've already rearranged their universe. That road they now have to cross wasn't there when their ancestors first began to crawl out of the pond to nest in the mud. they were doing it for centuries -- millennia even -- before we moved in and took that from them. All the while citing our place at the top of the food chain as our birthright to ownership.
ReplyDeleteSo the question I ask isn't why help the turtles, but why wouldn't you?
Sandy: A very nice necklace and an interesting look at the baby turtles.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you defined the word.
Unique rendition of the prompt Sandy...:)
ReplyDeleteIn so many ways, indurated can be expressed such as the way you did it.
In life, it is like "survival of the fittest" that makes us indurated.
Mine is rendered differently.
Have a great week ahead...:)
Very nice thought, Sandy. I would move the turtles too, and in someone's company would be even better.
ReplyDeleteYou say it so well, and with feeling - that reflects in your words.
ReplyDeleteYou say it so well, and with feeling - that reflects in your words.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Should we run over all the soft shelled creatures that happen to be in our path? When we can stop and help them along? Where is the hurry? Why are our lives more important than theirs?
ReplyDeleteThe earth is for all to co-exist and I recall one time a bird flew into the windshield of myy car and it pained me that it was killed.
ReplyDeleteOne does not have to wonder too much at the creatures which are dwindling in numbers each year.
Mankind is not always kind in his Garden.
Yes, the road is the intruder. Great words.
ReplyDeleteGreat take on the prompt Sandy. I have stopped to help the turtles across the road. I have seen many while cycling on my bike. I agree with Anthony, the road is the intruder into their world.
ReplyDeleteI have also saved many turtles on the road...it's such an easy thing to do. As always, your poem is about a simple subject but goes much, much deeper. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteSandy, I wanted to thank you very much for your comments on my blog. That piece hits home solidly for me too. Your writing and comments are an inspiration. I also took another stab at "indurated" this morning.
ReplyDeletehttp://sfrobbins.blogspot.com/2010/01/rememberance.html
It is based on a family member who soured (sadly) in their old age. It was a message to me to take a look in the mirror. My best, Rob
Atleast there are few people like you who care :D
ReplyDeleteAs a vegetarian I try to create as little net pain for other lives. Yet, we must consider if saving one life endangers or affects another. In my country it would be suicide to swerve or stop, day or night. "The ravens need to eat as well", my grandmother would say, and then later would light a joss stick for the truth of their being.
ReplyDeleteI love the strength in your words.
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome! Very thought provoking, and I have moved the turtles! Great imagery in your poem. Also, thanks for visiting my new site. Till later...
ReplyDeleteOh I love this. This is my favorite kind of poem. Every time I come here I want to play along but I can't always come up with anything. Maybe I will this time.
ReplyDeleteWe are part of 'fate' ... turtles coexist with us and we with them ...
ReplyDeletelove this post, Sandy.
xx,
JP/deb
Oh, yes! The circle of WE! Wonderful.
ReplyDeletethis is such an emotional and inspiring piece. thanks for the read. we are like turtles sometimes...
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said! I'm with you... after all, how we treat nature reflects who we are.
ReplyDeleteI would like to hope, think and believe that there are very few who wouldn't move them. Beautiful post, Sandy.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really goofy side note, but it reminds me of the miniseries "Merlin"... at one point, they're riding down the road and Merlin (Sam Neill!) stops his horse suddenly. Arthur asks what's wrong, and Merlin points to a snail inching across the road, saying "HE has the right of way."
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I dig this sentiment. :) Well said!
You always find the right words! I love the necklace!
ReplyDeleteSandy, here on the coast we have the story of the little girl who was thowing all the beached starfish back into the water that she could.
ReplyDeleteAn adult asked her why, there were so many that she couldn't possible make a difference in things.
Her reply was maybe not, but there will be a "big difference for this one" as she carried it over to the water.
..
...hearts that break and bleed under the weight of what happens...
ReplyDeleteThat brought tears to my eyes. I am also a turtle mover, but I never could have explained why as eloquently as this. Thank you and congratulations for being named Post Of The Week over at Hilary's.
I would like to think that I would be a turtle mover [here it is migrating frogs] and help out where I can, though the picture you painted was vivid I did hope that you would move them in the direction they were intending.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for being named Hilary's post of the day.
Great post, congrats on your post of the week.
ReplyDeleteI pick up worms in the driveway and put them back into the grass
ReplyDeleteI'd want someone to do that for me :)
stunning image and lovely words
congrats on POTW
Very thoughtful. Congratulations on the POTW. I have heard it said like this: We are measured by how we treat those who can do us no good; by how we treat those who cannot fight back.
ReplyDeleteI missed this post, I am so glad Hilary singled it out .. Congrats on POTW!
ReplyDeleteThis stanza moved me to tears:
ReplyDeleteInside their shells
Are hearts that break
And bleed
Under the weight
Of what happens
On these roads.
We are the turtles. Thank you for knowing that. Thank you for acting on what you know. Thank you for writing it down.
the turtles are always thankful
ReplyDeleteso what if they can't say it
many thanks for this
gentle poem ..
What a lovely heartfelt poem. Yes, we must share what God has given to our care.
ReplyDeleteMelanie
Congratulations on Hilary's Post of the Week. This is stunning! I'll be back again soon.
ReplyDeleteCheers
I move turtles, too.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the Post of the Week!
Lovely and touching.
ReplyDeleteMy husband, who is always annoying, always egocentrical, and can be hard as nails, moves turtles every time we see one in or near the road.
Thanks for this brilliant piece; so deserving of Post of the Week!
Beautiful, Sandy--
ReplyDeleteI too am a turtle-mover. And a carcass remover. I keep a shovel in my trunk just for these purposes.
Once in Florida I came across a snapper making his/her way across. I got out to help and he/she looked at me with such disdain that I just stood in the road while the passage was made; I didn't really want to get bit, either. Then we bid each other adieu with a look in the eye. I've never forgotten that--20 years later.
Seems like the least I can do. And maybe it's the most.
Thank you--this is beautiful.
that is beautiful sandy...cannot help but to think of the sea turtles rushing to shore....while the birds take their pick and eat...and once they make the shore, the sea becomes their home..traveling miles...which is just as dangerous as the open road...
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here.