If you have ever owned
a tortoise, you already know
how terribly difficult
paper training can be
for some pets.
Even if you get so far
as to instill in your tortoise
the value of achieving the paper,
there remains one obstacle --
your tortoise's intrinsic sloth.
Even a well-intentioned tortoise
may find himself, in his journeys,
to be painfully far from the mark.
Failing, your tortoise may shy away
for weeks within his shell, utterly
ashamed, or looking up with tiny,
wet eyes might offer an honest shrug.
Forgive him.
Scott Cairns, The Theology of Doubt (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1985)
No comments:
Post a Comment