saving the wildlife and being a good person

i prove to myself

that i'm

a good person by stopping

the car

and carrying a turtle

across the road.

my headlights

catch the dull sheen 

of it's green

thatched shell.

it will be my good deed

for the day.

i talk to it softly, telling it,

common on slow poke,

you have to speed

it up when

crossing the road.

i take a picture of it to share

with others.

unfortunately, it snaps

and bites me

on the hand

as i pick it up from

underneath.

i had no idea that their

necks could stretch out

that far.

angered, i fling the ungrateful

turtle as far as

i can. luckily, i hear

a splash

in a nearby creek.

he didn't hit a tree or a rock,

so he didn't crack.

so i guess i'm a good person

after all.

but now to the clinic

for a tetanus shot.