Turtles

Overlooked
Underestimated
Filled to the brim with low expectations

Split-vision migraines
from reconciling Kingdom, Phylum, Sub-Phylum, Class,
Order, Family, Genus, Species
with the poetry of each maze-patterned shell

I see the organism and the metaphor
The science and the ideal
I just can't see the simple, contented box turtle
half hidden in the grass

Overlooked
Underestimated
But their shallow depths go over my head

---

Caroline Devlin, age 16
2009 Finalist
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Louisiana State University Lab School
Teacher: Connie MacDonald