There was a little turtle,
Just a tiny little tot,
This littlest of turtles,
Made the most of what he’d got.
His mates would always rib him,
They’d make fun of his small size,
But he would just ignore them,
You could see it in his eyes.
He had determination,
A will bigger than his shell,
Given the chance he’d show them,
He would really do them well.
When starting out it was hard,
For no one gave him the chance,
“You’re too little, Go grow,”
Always was their song and dance.
But he’d take no refusal,
They would have to let him in,
He’d jump, shout and raise a fuss,
They’d relent to hush the din.
“Just stay quiet, keep in back,
The big boys do the talking,
So don’t you make a sound, Clear?
Or back home you’ll be walking.”
The little fellow nodded,
Just pleased to be here inside,
And as the meeting started,
He just beamed with inner pride.
The arguments were heated,
Turtle tempers flared in rage,
The little tot could scarce hear,
He pressed closer to the stage.
Because he was much smaller,
He slipped in between the crowd,
And soon was in the front row,
The argument’d grown quite loud.
Each side had made some good points,
Though neither side would give way,
All resigned to have stalemate,
When a thin voice saved the day.
Little turtle had spoke up,
Found a way to compromise,
And voiced in his crackling tone,
Solution that pleased both sides.
He gained respect from thence forth,
And was welcomed everywhere,
And when disputes rose again,
They were glad that he was there.
And though his voice was tiny,
And sometimes it’d even crack,
His points were well considered,
His reasoning all on track.
Sometimes he’d barely whisper,
Sometimes he’d jump and shout,
When he’d reach his conclusions,
You’d know it was well thought out.
Years went by and he did grow,
But not his physical size,
Reputation for wisdom,
Grew in other turtles’ eyes.
And how did he achieve this,
Coming from such a small start?
When asked by those around him,
This is what he would impart.
Our wise little turtle says,
“No matter the size of shell,
All turtles will respect you,
If you do your thinking well.”

tags: poetry  

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