My Friend - The Turtle

My Friend, the Turtle

I remember from when I was a very much younger turtle,
That I had a friend who was not quite like the rest of us.
He was always wandering off by himself
when he grew tired of the games we never ceased to enjoy.

One day . . .
He built himself a flying machine!
We were all very much excited about his flying machine,
And perhaps a bit fearful,
For no turtle had ever left the ground before!
My friend - laughing at our fears -
Climbed into his flying machine and spun off into the sky,
Waving to us from a great height!
When he returned to the ground,
He spoke to us of strange sights in breathless words
which we could not understand.

Each day, he boarded his flying machine and soared off into the clouds.

And each day, his words grew more difficult to comprehend.

Fearing he was a bit mad,
We decided to ignore him and continue in our games.

Finally . . .
One day he disappeared into a bank of clouds and was never seen again.

**************

From time to time
I hear rumors from traveling stangers about my friend.
Some say he crashed into a lake and went straight to the bottom.
Others contend he grew ambitious and flew directly into the sun.

But somehow . . .
I feel he is still up there in his flying machine . . .
Seeing sights no turtle has even seen.