Turtle Woman

Turtle Woman

“When the yogi, like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs, can fully retire his senses from the objects of perception, his wisdom manifests steadiness.” —Bhagavad Gita II:58

Will you still love me if I finish first?

Slow as I am to you whose speed is your god, I move.
Admiring really your shell-less existence—
On my back it’s sometimes hard to right myself.
In the soup they call me a delicacy,
So I praise vegetarians,
Though I myself sometimes snap
At insects, small fish, & moving fingers.

But what’s a creature so heavy-laden to do?

O, lest I sound maudlin
Or sorry for my webbed feet,
I withdraw my questions
Along with my head & legs
And drop out of your race.

—from Turtle Woman & Other Poems