A newly-hatched snapping turtle
that looks like a small smooth stone
lies motionless on the sandy path at my feet.
I pick it up and look closely at its tightly-sealed
eyes and stiff little legs, each with a perfect miniature claw.
With my finger, I gently nudge the disproportionately long tail.

Then I set the little being
in the shade of a prairie sunflower,
a place I would not mind spending eternity,
and to my surprise, wise eyes open, sturdy legs
churn, and the turtle sets out faster than I thought turtles
could move into a life that could be longer than what is left of mine.

Joan Wiese Johannes’s full-length poetry collection, Lamenting My Failure to Learn How to Learn How to Tap Dance, was released in September 2023 by Water’s Edge Press. A long-time member of Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, she co-edited the 2012 Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar and the 2019 Winter issue of Bramble with her husband Jeffrey. She lives in Port Edwards, WI.