If I were a turtle

I would bask all day in the hot sun
on my favorite log.
If I got too warm I’d burrow
deep down into the river bed mud.
When I was hungry I would catch
a minnow or make a lily pad salad.
If I encountered a raccoon or heron
I would hide in my shell
where it is dark and safe
and let danger bounce off.

In my shell, I’d be Super Turtle.
I would learn karate and become a ninja.
But, I mean, I’d be a nice ninja.
I would make friends and give rides,
ferry frogs across the river,
even give squirrels a turn
if they promised to be nice.
I would challenge a rabbit to a race.
I think I can take ‘em.
Don’t worry, though, I’d avoid strangers.
I don’t trust them, you know what I’m saying?
If a person I didn’t know got too close
I would nip at their toes
until they went away.

When I got bored with river life
I would visit the rest of the world
and get out of my own little stream,
swim to that big lake next county over
and then who knows where I’d stop.
You can laugh, but I’d just keep going
until I reached the ocean.
I would visit Galapagos and my sea cousins
and then to Africa for a short vacation on land
to stay with my tortoise cousins.

Sure enough, life would be grand if I were a turtle.
Tell me, what would you do if you were a turtle?

©2020 Kenneth W. Arthur