SNOOZE-TIME FOR A SNAIL
Sleepy I am. I start to close my eyes,
Then climb inside my shell with soft goodbyes
To all my deep-sea kin; and now to You,
O God Most Wet, I'll say - a toodle-loo.
It's been a hectic day, a hectic week!
Racing to get somewhere, still up a creek
Without a paddle, finger, fins, or jet!
I ask you, God, how hopeless can one get?
What have I done today? Well, nothing much,
Just family visits, daily prayers and such,
With long sea miles to go before I sleep.
(I hope my relatives won't call me "creep.")
I've eighty thousand kinds of snails to greet,
Some up to 2 feet long, with giant feet
Walking on mucus which we first exude,
Then slide our feet along: It's rather crude.
Now I'll slow down. Ah, time at last to rest
Unwind, be calm and placid, still - and blest,
Tucking myself in bed within the shell
I've backpacked for myself. All shall be well!
from the forthcoming book Prayers of 100 Animals A to Z, by William Cleary
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