Proud Inheritance Poem by Nikhil Parekh

A brittle shell camouflaged my body,
engraved with multicolored stripes of steel gray,
slimy in texture, resembling dead chunks of wood,
as hard as a rock, unmoved when blasted with explosive.

a fleshy neck protruded from my hollow skull,
imprisoning a slender pink tongue swallowing glow worm,
compact sets of teeth were for churning meal,
i retraced my nose within cozy comforts of body pouch,
the moment it smelt the unmistakable aroma of approaching man.

a pair of eyeball beads composed my vision,
sighting appetizing prey in murky ambience of light,
maneuvering my lazy feet to the place I resided,
triggering my instincts of self defense,
warning me round the clock of possible predators encroaching upon.

I swam at painstaking speed in stagnant pond of monsoon water,
Nibbled floating weed, drank lots of liquid,
Lay topsy-turvy on clay strewn banks of river,
With my belly bathing in dazzling rays of the Sun God,
My head inches within my tubular body,
Whirlwinds of tension far away from my silhouette,
Meditating jungle rhymes in this state of dormancy,
Till pangs of hunger stimulated me to hunt,
I knew the Creator had blessed me with more than a century of life,
As I had proudly inherited the form of a tortoise from my still alive mother.