Turtles

While walking from the gym on campus yesterday, my sister and I stopped by one of the ponds to photograph a couple turtles sunning themselves on a log in the middle of the pond. One of those photos I posted below, as they were rather adorable. This morning I awoke and the lines of a poem inspired by those turtles wandered through my head (oh to be a writer and hear voices in your head first thing on a Saturday morning). The poem itself is rather self-explanatory, so I'll not waste your time with a rambling introduction.

Photo by Abigail Blair, 2018

The sun beats through the cold,
Alighting on our backs
As water gently laps,
Caressing the banks.

Heads lifted toward the blissful warmth,
We sit unnoticed by those
Who stride quickly past us,
Those too aloof to pause and live.

In their haste they forget
To feel the warmth so rare in February,
Too bent on scrambling from A to B
In their busyness and work.

We watch them from our spot—
You and I together observe—
How they run and rarely stroll,
How they chatter but don’t really speak.

What would happen if they left
Their busy world for just a moment
And felt the sun?
Or heard the water’s kiss?

How might their lives change
If instead of speeding off from
One thing to the next, they paused
And appreciated the gift around them?

But what do we know?
We’re just turtles on a log.

If you enjoyed this post (and even if your didn't), please comment why or why not in the section below! Also, if you do not mind terribly, I'd like to pick your brain for a moment. What would you rather see on this blog? More free verse poetry, attempts at structured poetry, short stories, personal posts? If you might spare a minute of your time, please comment which you prefer. That helps me customize my blog to include what readers wish to read, not simply the last-minute post I devise every-other-Saturday morning.

Happy Saturday!
~Abigail Blair