the nudge

it's a small
turtle, squared
green, that crawls
on top
of the bent
beer can
floating
in the dammed
lake, two feet
deep across,
but still not
without
a photographic
beauty
when the sun
is just
right and the trees
are mirrored
in blue water,
but it's the turtle
that strikes
your interest.
how his life has
come to this,
to be stranded
at such a young age,
his neck
twisted outward,
in a place
he knows nothing
about.
nothing has
prepared him for
this, or the nudge
that you give
him with a long
stick, knowing
that we all need
a nudge at some
point.