Beneath the cryptic cartography of the rain,
where centuries dissolve in mineral sleep,
the turtle bears a cathedral of restraint,
a calcified cosmos no cataclysm can keep.
Its carapace, an atlas of forgotten stars,
is tessellated with the weight of time;
each scute a hieroglyph of vanished empires,
each fracture, an unfinished paradigm.
It does not flee the tyranny of hours,
nor kneel before the clockwork of decay;
while empires combust into their own ashes,
it negotiates eternity in clay.
O, paradox of armour and of vulnerability,
thou paradoxical pilgrim of the loam,
within thy shell, a portable infinity -
a universe that carries its own home.
The heron watches from the reeds,
austere; the pond rehearses heaven in its glass.
The turtle moves, indifferent to fear,
as though it knows what all things must surpass.
For what is speed but panic made kinetic,
what haste but terror wearing gilded shoes?
The swift arrive at endings quite pathetic;
the slow possess the privilege to choose.
And when the sun, exhausted, abdicates,
when dusk unthreads the firmament's design,
the turtle, ancient witness to the fates,
withdraws into the architecture of its spine.
There, in the sanctuary of its silence,
where neither praise nor prophecy intrudes,
it dreams beyond the jurisdiction of violence,
beyond the hunger of the multitudes.
Perhaps the universe, in some primordial hour,
was not conceived as motion, flame, or flight,
but as a turtle contemplating power and choosing,
quite deliberately, the night.
So let the planets sprint their fevered circles;
let time devour the kingdoms it has known.
The turtle bears eternity in circles of bone and keratin,
and calls them home.
And if, at last, the final star extinguishes,
if nothing remains of memory or name,
one patient silhouette still distinguishes itself from nothingness-
and does not hurry
Sam Jalil
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142,249 Literary Works • 677,084 Reviews
I love this poem! Particularly the complex language use adds a lot to it.
This specifically is my favorite part, being fast typically has to do with fear, the piece about the slow, the people who are less afraid, also hits just as hard. Panic and kinetic are words that flow so very well into one another, since nic and kin are the same but flipped.
Overall awesome sauce poem
Hey Sam!!♡ i just read ur beautiful work and i have to say i loved how u portrayed such a simple creature as a symbol of patience and determination, and peace within oneself. The way u related such a simple creature to things so much bigger than itself........ the universe and time itself, is simply spectacular.
My favorite part would have to be "what is speed but panic made kinetic" as I feel that line perfectly encapsulates the theme of the poem........ and deconstructs the idea of speed being good, and slowness meaning being stagnant. The imagery you portrayed with the shell being an "atlas of forgotten stars" was equally fascinating..... the way you gave it qualities of something so much bigger than itself was really cool.
The way the shell transforms into something more than a means of protection is really cool too, as it is shown as a personal space...... a place that the turtle can go to where it can escape the scrutiny and expectations of the outside world, and simply exist in peace. The conclusion of the poem really ties it all together, showing how the patience...... of the turtle is in fact a way for it to avoid the passage of time.
i only hope that next time you write a poem, u leave a bit more of a breath between the grandiloquent metaphors you so greatly excel at, lest the reader feels overwhelmed.
This was overall a truly great poem, full of wonderful imagery and a beautiful theme. Lovely work!♡
~lilly♡ the fire dragon
Remind me to review this later, turtle is my mascot on here <.<
I loved the rich, rich language in this poem! I'll review it tomorrow because I'm so tired today...
My favourite stanza!
This poem reminds me of the Discworld turtle, A'Tuin