Looking for Baby Turtles
My son and I scout out circles
skimming the murky shallows of the pond,
shells no bigger than silver
dollars, yellow-striped necks electric
under the midafternoon sun.
Downshore, I wander a jagged
heap of limestone, leap
back at the sound of a slither,
glimpse black leather
skin sliding under shadowed rock.
Should I tell him this is the way it goes?
You can spend your life searching
for only what’s sweet, and still,
you might step on a snake.
9 thoughts on "Looking for Baby Turtles"
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No, he will find out soon enough! I like description and shape of poem to tell this moment of parenthood.
Chelsie, I like how you tell a story with a message in this poem. I sometimes do that as well when writing my verse.
Provocative! A poem for all parents. I also like how you stagger the couplets.
Great poem – and the form works, too. It looks like skipping stones!
Like the nature, the parenting and form of this poem. Well done!
I love the form here and “yellow-striped necks electric/under the midafternoon sun.”
yellow-striped was well done, well done
For the love of compound adjectives. 🤦♀️
Chelsie! A super, inspiring poem! Brought back many memories. We owned turtles, so enchanting, when our boys were little. Thanks for this