Just wed

TORTOISESHELL

Just wed, my love gave me a gift.

From an innocent gold chain hung

A case of marbled black and tan.

An antique locket lined with silk.

How long ago it seems. Now I

Have the living thing; dote on his

Antediluvian limbs, his

Scaled reptilian head. His

Eyes polished chips of aged coal.

Only months into his long life,

I am responsible for this

Proof of Darwin's theory. I watch

His slow progress, the gradual

Evolving of this ancient child.

He inhabits a world of my

Creation, a tiny landscape

Of rocks, plants, some scattered sand, a

Tideless sea cupped in a blue bowl.

He idles out his day, basking

Indolently beneath sunshine

That switches on at seven sharp.

Frost, rain, and cloud are kept at bay.

Sixty watts beam down to heat up

His shell of marbled black and tan.

Gradually warmth persuades his

Appetite. With alacrity

He trots towards the early leaf

I brave the dark dawn frost to pick.

He eats voraciously, his jaws

Pulping the green, that old man's throat

Swallowing hard. When replete he

Pauses, yawns with creaking slowness,

A pink silk lining to his mouth.

Withdraws his head within his shell

And sleeps, beautifully contained.

A tortoise locket, my love locked inside.

Simone Sekers

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