Hardcore Tortoise

By OneKind supporter Stephen Watt

You, walking fossil, are a mobile

bomb shelter. A steadfast rammer,

built to last.

Dragon-bones, cast as oracles,

last lifespans reserved for royals

and immortals;

make pacts with Vishnu

to carry domed worlds upon your back.

When the earth trembles, quakes,

shakes its crust then floods,

it is the World Turtle churning the seas,

reconstructing land from mud

and your blood has been depicted

both as blessings and witchcraft

but you’re not daft; keeping your scaley head down

until the melee has passed.

In this race, slow and steady

wins every time, disinterested

in extinctions instigated by humankind

and where home is a treasure

to be preserved, valued, part of you

until days come to an end;

the shield of you

is all that’s left behind.