The Death of a Turtle

The desert lies nearly empty,

a turtle pokes out its head,

thinks better of it and goes back in.

A cactus stands by and moves in the breeze.

Maybe a rock or two roll by, but really, who knows?

The harsh sun beats down on the sandy ground,

which swirls and twirls in the breeze, like a ballerina.

A vulture swoops by, looking for brunch, but finding nothing but sand.

Keep going, vulture, if you really need food,

because up ahead lies a burial ground,

and food could probably be found there.

Don't be scared, little turtle, today's not your day.

The turtle sighs in relief, pokes its head back out.

The cactus droops in the sudden silence, with no breeze

to hold it up. The sand stops swirling, and suddenly

the barren land seems full with a heavy, deafening silence.

The calm before the storm.

Suddenly, a snake slithers out of a hole.

The turtle take one, two steps, toward the cactus,

then the snake comes by, swallows it whole.

Oh, the irony of life; escapes one death for an entirely different one.

The much swifter one, just getting swallowed whole,

but still long for all that time waited.