Snapping Turtle

artwork: jeannie e. roberts

Snapping Turtle

     by Jeannie E. Roberts

Here, where countless creatures

weave through these waters,

where wild jewelweed

and Oswego tea

explode like fireworks,

where cattail spike  

and wood ducks float

quietly, here, you hide

near lily pads, soaking

your vicious temper,  

your mighty jaws

mid these muddy waters

you call home.  Here,

something ancient rises,

unchanged, stalking,

tearing turbulently

with aquatic skill,

reptilian toughness

and cold-blooded instinct.

Here, where your life

means death

to countless creatures,

where final breaths

weave peacefully 

       

through waters,  

shining home.    

~ first appeared in Nature of it All

    (Finishing Line Press, 2013)