to a turtle, lake valentine

that your kind
has survived
millenia
never fails to bring me hope

it may be
the weight
it is so easy to accumulate
around your soft spots
has its uses

and there is an element
in which it no longer
matters

one thing
you cannot tell
is how to find
the way back out

on your log
that just skims
above the reams of algae
you are ready
at any moment
to slide under
millenia
your kind
has survived, survived