Best Tortoises Poems
Spring takes its bow early in Florida’s climate
Winds expire, February debuts in quiet
Dazzling lavender blooms on cherry trees wake first
Sweet aroma o’er the verdant landscape’s dispersed
Summer lures eager tourists to beaches in May
Dipping their toes, they feel the ocean’s salty spray
Torrid heat ushers hurricane season in June
Cautious homeowners await the year’s first typhoon
But for late November, Fall seems nonexistent
Taking to nature trails, hikers’ hours are now spent
Wild boar and turkeys identified by their musk
Gopher tortoises chill in shells, deer await dusk
Locals celebrate yuletide holidays with joy
Brevity of winter - nature’s cruelest ploy
*Written August 22, 2014
Categories:
tortoises, seasons,
Form:
Sonnet
A hexagon, a hexagon, you have to be a hexagon.
You say you are a pentagon?
What use have I for pentagon?
You’re too close to the White House lawn!
So you’re a base to stand upon?
This isn’t baseball, Pentagon.
You silly polygon, be gone!
A hexagon, a hexagon. You have to be a hexagon!
You say you are a nonagon.
A nonagon? What good are YOU?
A coin perhaps, from Timbuktu??
You’re nothing, nonagon. Come on!
A hexagon, a hexagon. You have to be a hexagon!
You say you are a decagon.
I guess you think you are a star.
I don’t need someone quite so far
up in the heavens where you are.
I need, instead, a hexagon.
A hexagon, a hexagon. You have to be a hexagon!
You say you are an octagon.
You’ve got some versatility!
A mirror, tiles, candles too.
They all can be the shape of you.
But on the streets I always see
your sign. It makes me have to stop.
I do not think you are for me!
A hexagon, a hexagon. You have to be a hexagon!
A triangle you’ve now become?
A simple flag? Three-sided crumb?
I know that as an instrument
you are not much! I find you dumb.
A hexagon, a hexagon. You have to be a hexagon!
A rectangle you try to be
and now a square. You don’t fool me!
I find you oh so ordinary.
Crackers or Monopoly,
or crossword puzzles I don’t need
and Sponge Bob – yep – that’s “square” indeed!
A hexagon, a hexagon. You have to be a hexagon!
And so you are a circle now?
you’ve got no point, you “walking round in circles” cow.
A hexagon, a hexagon. You have to be a hexagon.
I want those feathered flakes of snow
with crystals of six sides to show.
I need the shape of many eyes
that see more colors than we know -
the eyes of flitting dragonflies!
I need the carbon chain of DNA
and pretty patterns on the shell
of tortoises. Okay, okay!
You are a hexagon, you say?
Come let me have a taste. Don’t tease!
You are the honeycomb of bees!
So sweet you are; you are my *salve.
I now have got a hexagon;
you're now the thing I had to have!
*In American English: salve uses silent l and rhymes with have.
Sept 15, 2019 For Nina Parmenter's "Welcome to My Random World" Contest
Categories:
tortoises, humorous,
Form:
Rhyme
Frisky, gray squirrels scramble
Beneath a massive, old oak tree
Gathering the best acorns they see
Their fluffy tailed, lively damsels
Opossum wobble on short legs
From their laurel sheltered lairs
Toward the thickets where there’s
Vast bugs and spiders in their webs
Gentle, soft haired rabbits assemblage
Onward, seeking out grassy fortresses
Where they might discover tortoises
And additional special kinds of foliage
Black and white stripped skunks
Bob out toward their furry friends
Reassured they will make amends
So they will help them over tree stumps
Russet colored raccoons with charming features
Searching for their favorite pine tree expansion
Scrambling up through the long branches
To havens above all the other creatures
Big, black bear grumble through woods so eerie
Checking all around for beehives or cherries
Hoping to find a bit of honey or sweet berries
To munch on before the weather gets dreary
Tan and bronze deer clamber up cliffs that deliver
To the meadows where they’re stopping together
To chew long grass and weeds found whether
They make their trek toward the gently flowing river
Forests are thriving with these unique beings
All the different beasts living there from across
Pine, oak, birch, locust, laurel, fern and moss
God’s gifts to us who love this place so pleasing
Categories:
tortoises, animal, environment, nature,
Form:
Enclosed Rhyme
Underneath green leaves that wave at the sun,
Goes mad activity in the environs of summer!
Fuzzy rabbits hopping along sunshine bound,
Scurrying racoons-bandits off for a heist,
Bushy tailed squirrels dancing in the pines,
As fresh scent wafts through the afternoon!
Chipmunks rush to feast on the wild berries,
As violet birds are off to feast on cherries.
Chirping crickets and buzzing bees day to day,
As the earth moves round in the familiar way.
Eager frogs leap wide eyed on a vivid quest;
And blue snakes slither in the emerald bushes.
Tortoises and turtles do a slow dance with June,
As ruby-throated hummingbirds hum a sunny tune!
Categories:
tortoises, animal, green, life, nature,
Form:
Free verse
All aboard the zoo train, let's ride there
Be amazed when you see the mighty bear
Cougars, big cats, crouch inside their lair
Desert tortoises creep, they move so slow
Eagles perch and stare from branches, low
Foxes peer out from within their dens
Great giraffes gawk, their necks extend
Hyenas laugh as they run and play
Iguanas lie and bask in the sun all day
Jaguar is regal, as she paces in her stall
Kangaroos nibble on leaves near a wall
Lions pace, the kings of the jungle
Meerkats hide in small holes and tunnels
Now we can view those amusing apes
Orangutans with their funny faces
Past the fountain, we see the polar bear
Quite a sight, as he swims over there
'Round the bend, we enter reptile land
Snakes that slither over rocks and sand
Tribal music sets the stage to see
Up high, as we look into the banyon trees
Vociferous squawks from bright toucans
Wild echos reverberate over the land
Xanadu dreams, on this enchanting day
You feel you've traveled miles away
Zoo magic memories were made today.
Updated on 5/18/2022
Written on 7/11/2015
Categories:
tortoises, animal, nature,
Form:
Abecedarian
Butti the tortoise from the zoo has flown the coop
Your brother Tutti misses you, you little poop
On you there is a large bounty
If found in El Paso County
Hope you don't end up as a bowl of turtle soup
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
This is based on a true story. Butti came up missing at the Colorado Springs
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, 27 Mar 2011. He and his brother, Tutti, are Indian
Star tortoises. Suspicions are that some miscreant pocketed him and strolled
away since he was about the size of a grapefruit and weighed about a
pound. Coincidentally, a river otter named Kitchi, escaped from the same zoo
a few months ago and has never been found. If interested you can read the
saga of Kitchi in my poem of the same name. Will keep you posted!!
Categories:
tortoises, animals, funny
Form:
Limerick
As Noah gathered his flocks, and he gathered his herds
Two by two, from the frogs, to the birds
They would follow the leader, right into the ark
Indeed, he was told "Build a ship, and embark!
There's a flood coming soon, 40 days, 40 nights
Some thought he was crazy, his decision a plight!
Noah's two monkeys, had a devilish side!
They quickly jumped on the back of the elephants' hides
They took unfair advantage
Even carrying their luggage
While these jumbo sized taxis....gave them a ride
Horace and Doris were at the end of the line
As tortoises go, they would need extra time
Inching their way up, took an hour...so slow
While the rest of the group, cheered them on from the bow
till finally they were sealing ship's bolted door shut!
And soon rains were pouring, first sprinkles, then lots!
At dinner each night, as they would gather to dine
Like a cruise, quite gourmet, .....big buffets , even wine
They bought in the first course, a huge bowl of soup
In the hot broth was a rabbit, swimming in loops!!
"Oh Noah! Come quickly!"..."There's a hare in my soup!!"
And soon all the twosomes, were laughing and hooting
The ark was party, filled to the brim
Two for the road, and one for the swim
They would follow the leader, right into the ark
Indeed, he was told "Build a ship, and embark!
There's a flood coming soon, 40 days, 40 nights
Some thought he was crazy, some partied all night
But the risk was a good one, it seems he was right!
Circumstances might make us lose faith in our whims
And it might look as if all our chances are dim
Do not give in ! Or at least have fun
For laughter's the best medicine under the sun!!
___________________________
Categories:
tortoises, animal, humorous, storm,
Form:
Rhyme
It is a quite Sunday morning
It was a weird outing in the evening
We saw fuming ashes
We saw failed elephants
We heard the tales of fallen petals
We saw drifting continents of love and lust
It was a quite Sunday morning after a tepid Saturday night
I saw many men sulking under the weight of their own dreams
I heard many women lustfully languishing their tongue twisters
They were all eloquent
They were all spellbound
They were castrated
A Carnival in the oddest of the hours
A Caricature of my self and many other selves
Our pulses were travelling to Venus, Mars and Pluto
We were simmering in the heat of the market mongers
We were boiler plates to the typecasted experiments in human nature
Have you heard about Pavlov
Who embarked on an experiment to create machines in human mindset
Have you learned about Vygotsky
Who smiled at the smiling babies and loved their zones of evolution
Have you wept when Maykovsky shot dead himself
His poetry must have been boiling faster than his heart impulses
When I end up embracing the dichotomies of Mikhail Bakhtin
I know I have become a scoundrel, polyglot, a hedonist, pagan beast
When this hetroglossia unfolds and scarlet fevers engulf the nations
Fear of languages, life and all sort of glass house effects will prevail
Do you know the fissures in your palace
Do you know if it is made of marble, mosaic, or even a piece of pitch blend?
Now I know only about primordial stones and shadows
Who build pyramids and prisons in the middle of stone hinged and laggard society
Who are in multitudes, nameless, nation-less, necro-manic living echoes
I live their turquoise blue rings, silver palms, their mythical fear of tortoises
I dig a grave to heal their zest for anarchy, and to unwound their zeitgeist
Categories:
tortoises, allegory, angst, beautiful, character,
Form:
Free verse
thinking of turtles
I go straight to fables: The Tortoise and the Hare -
and how slow and steady wins the race
that same old story, been there, done that
think back think back - I’m back in grade school now
Mom didn’t like dogs and cats,
so she got us a turtle which died in weeks
probably not a good idea -
one small shared turtle passed around
among six pairs of small eager exploring hands
I think that to live a really long time
a turtle needs to be gigantic
like those huge ones on Galapagos. . .
how I loved learning in junior high geography
things like how those tortoises can live longer than my grandma
and how folks can ride atop their hard shell backs!
riding riding. . . now I’m back in high school
riding in a boyfriend’s car, sure I must have been
snuggled close to him, but maybe not
he was really into rules and I can’t remember
when wearing seat belts came to be a law!
Alvin was the name of this tall good looking guy
a year or two ahead of me in school
but in a different school from mine
across the Mississippi in a town of Illinois
his hair was dark and wavy, his eyes were brightly blue
even his nose was perfect, and he was so sweet
when he invited me to church camp across the river
for hours playing handsies covertly on our pew
we listened to religion droning on and on
and my mind was not on God
later at his house, making out
I never would have let him get too far
but I could tell he thought I was too fast. . .
I remember thinking as he drove me home
how slowly and carefully he maneuvered that car
how slowly he articulated
every word he spoke
and it entered in my mind
this religious rule abiding boy with the perfect face
and lips that gave such perfect kisses
drove, talked and probably thought
as slowly as a turtle
Alvin never dated me again
I wonder sometimes what he’s doing now
and if slow and steady
won the race
Categories:
tortoises, analogy, boyfriend,
Form:
Free verse
Where houses sing and dance
Come to my city and see
Houses sing and dance in festivals
Buildings dance Ndobolo*, twisty
Bumping in style and singing reggae
Clapping hands in joyful rhythm
And whistling with the winds
All day and all night
In every hill and valley
Come to my city and see
Houses waking up every morning
Without washing faces and legs
Without brushing their teeth
But enjoying the kiss of pure sewerage
Whenever tears roll from above
And crazily snake to destiny
Yes, here houses wave good bye to the world
As they gallop to work-places
Come to my city and see
Swarms of beetles, tortoises, buffaloes
In a cold war, crawling side by side
Spying suspiciously on one another
For espionage and sabotage
As they trap and get trapped
All day and all night
In this city of many questions
Hearts whisper messages of wonder
The rain that falls sweeps aside hope
Whirlwinds that blow confirms the chaos
Every sunrise the story is the same
Here in this city of many hills
Where houses sing, whistle
And dance Ndobolo
*Ndobolo is a famous Congolese dance
Categories:
tortoises, allegory, allusion, analogy, confusion,
Form:
Lyric
A granny in a brightly lit flower frock is neither a spinning wheel or a basket of multi coloured wools. Multi coloured wools are very very useful indeed for wool wafts wonderful warmth. And warmth is great when cold so never mind the harness in a three wheeled bin in the artic. Oh the whorl of semantic accolade is an issue for a tiny tissue and a tiramisu partying on a giant cliff face. Squarking squirrels sending signals swimmingly secretly sedately swift. A cloud worshipping a beacon is a beanie in a bun but not while the bun is sleeping. It needs peace and quiet you see and tantalisation can often christen the rite of passage in in even the mist tightest of skirts, shirts and dressed crabs. In a salad. Overtones of a butterscotch pantry never belittle a momentary pickle. Miserable money making mongrels make marvellous man made moons. And a jingle jangle.simmering on a stove is a one time initiation starting ship to a nonlethal Atlantic cruise basin where crudities are neither cuddles nor cute and anarchic apathy is swamped by an adjudical nun in a costume from the fourteenth century castle of the espionage for espionage is not a experience it is a an exact evenly economically excellent ecliptic eccentric eclipse. So all go hail the ring of the bell from the cooker. Ding dong ding then. Right isnt it? Playing football in a dough ball of glue is preferable to hand gliding in gloves of concrete. And a forthright pair of gloves are always leather in outlook and forward drive like a medium in a trance. Trembling trees throwing turnips thrice turning tormenting tortoises. Hahaha the time tick tock tick arguing with a baseball glove and a hat and a microphone stands with a bacon trolley. Hahaha missionary mishap makes many mingling monsters. Oh left heel clock clock right heel click. Great. Fantastic isn't it? Xxxxx evolutionally z z z z z
Categories:
tortoises, anti bullying, , cute,
Form:
OLD GREAT GRAND OLYMPIAD Acrostic
Ocean creatures organized overwhelming Olympiad.
Land animals appreciated, approved courtyard.
Dreadful dragons, daredevil dinosaur drunkard.
Great grand gorgeous gone celebration
Rigorous vigorous rattle snake rolled, rang tail- rings.
Elephant arrogant fought haughty hippo, won wrestling.
Aggressive antelope attacked ants, angry ass chased.
Tigers terrified tortoises taking gun, putting paws on triggers.
Grey goat got gold medal galloping on green grass.
Raccoon ragged reindeer ramping running rat race.
All alert expert winners achieved trophies.
Nine naughty notorious narwhales were expelled to neglect rules.
Dear, Donkeys,Dodos, Doves, Ducks were delighted.
Opening orison was displayed by outstanding group of owls.
Lame langur, leopard, lion loitered, leaped on ladder.
Young yeti rode on yellow yak, yawned, yelped.
Mandrill, mammoth, monkey met mouse tickling mermaid.
Peacocks, pigeons, parrots, pelicans proudly participated.
Immodest Incorrigible iguana irritated infant ibex.
Athlete acrobat agitated alligators assembled.
Deaf dumb Dog driving double-decker was declared Champion.
08/21/6
Olympic Mania Contest by Janis Thompson
Categories:
tortoises, celebration, old,
Form:
Acrostic
The ring-tailed lemurs swished their stripes;
The tortoises perambled.
Rhinoceroses munched on hay;
The seals caroused and gamboled.
A winter day with snow on tap
Was perfect for the zoo.
The humans seemed to stay away
So visitors were few.
The cobra swayed from side to side;
The dart frogs were exquisite.
A cold and dismal afternoon’s
The time I love to visit.
Categories:
tortoises, animal, winter,
Form:
Rhyme
I rested my head in the nook of aunt's elbow and heard fairy tales
I travelled to the land of Cinderella's and Twelve Dancing Princesses
Dreamt of playing with friendly talking birds and sitting on big tortoises
Hansel and Gretel were so real that I craved for their chocolate houses
As a teen I sought solitude and refuge in the nook of my tree-house
Playing deaf to the calls for meals and incomplete homework from the main-house
Romancing the castles with Cartland, shrieking wildly in Archie's mad-house
Thrillers of Chase and giggles of Schoolgirls kept me awake in my book-house
With age I left the warm nook of my aunt and tree-house for snuggles in bed
Turning pages of Hardy's and Holt's till the pale light of dawn turned into red
At times I flew with the poets and touched the starry heavens where angels tread
Or sighed with Cressida's and Hamlet's, pined and died in their tumultous bed
Emulating my loving aunts' passion for reading was freedom of thought
Art of holding books between the thumb and little finger was sweetly taught
My world opened with fairy tales giving birth to dreams was food for thought
Delightful reads in my Camelot helped me to build my own school of thought
18 syllables in each line
Judged on May2, 2016
For Laura Loo
Second Chance Only 2
Categories:
tortoises, allusion, angel, beautiful, books,
Form:
Quatrain
A white wash of striated clouds
stretch expansively
across the arid desert sky
where Joshua trees commune
lifting up crooked cactus-like arms
towards the searing sun.
Massive layers of brown boulders
jut, forming endless sculptures
hidden places where the ancients
made their penitence with words
swept away by unforgiving winds.
Shadows shift under the arc of the sun
where nervous roadrunners dart
startled lizards seek shade
great hawks circle with outstretched wings
and tortoises amble as the hours crawl by.
Two lane highways trail into the horizon
toward snow capped mountain peaks
lined by nameless telephone poles
and tumbleweeds that roll aimlessly
across storefronts and sleepy
rundown towns in disrepair.
Yet the mystique of the Mojave plains
still remains an inviting oasis
of refreshment and contemplation
where time stands still
beneath the stillness
of the midnight stars.
12/5/2022
Categories:
tortoises, earth, nature,
Form:
Free verse