Dog Versus Tortoise
It happens every year
when my human opens
the backdoor to let me out
and the tortoise has plopped
himself at its threshold.
Hey, dog why are you knocking
on my shell?
Can’t you see me sitting here?
Excuse me, Shaman
but I need to go!
Get out of my way
or I’ll lift my leg
and complete
my business
on top of your shell
instead.
Why must you plop
right in front of
the backdoor anyway?
The humans have the AC running
and you get to sleep inside
with the cool air while
I’m stuck out here
in the brutal sun all day.
The back porch offers
a bit of shade and respite.
I think you’ve grown soft!
A Sonoran desert tortoise
should be basking in the sun
not hiding out in the shade.
Now,
step aside
so I can get back in the house.
NaPoWriMo Prompt – Last but not least, here’s today’s optional prompt. This one comes from the poet and fiction writer Todd Dillard, who provided this idea on his twitter account a few months ago. The idea is to write a poem in which two things have a fight. Two very unlikely things, if you can manage it. Like, maybe a comb and a spatula. Or a daffodil and a bag of potato chips. Or perhaps your two things could be linked somehow – like a rock and a hard place – and be utterly sick of being so joined. The possibilities are endless!
Good morning and welcome to day twenty two of #NaPoWriMo where I imagined the conversation between my dog and the tortoise after letting the dog out this morning and she had to jump across the tortoise as he was plopped right at the backdoor. Sonoran Desert tortoises hibernate in the winter somewhere between October-March. Our tortoise Shaman is around 30 years old and not in the best health anymore. While Shawn was gone this weekend, Gretchen and I went out to feed the tortoises. We got Shaman to eat some lettuce and spinach. He perked up after Gretchen cooled him off with some water. Then I found him right at the backdoor when I woke up this morning. It looked like the morning food Shawn put out for him was untouched.
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