Serving Time by Jean Ryan

A royal family in Polynesia was gifted
a tortoise hatchling by the explorer Captain Cook.
For 188 years this reliable creature hauled itself
across the property, accepting whatever
hindrance it encountered. Some days
it likely went nowhere, just hunkered where it woke,
disinclined to travel or eat or even gaze at the greenery,
the act of breathing engagement enough.
How can we assume that a turtle who lived 68,620 days
didn't get bored or grouchy, didn't want to occasionally bite
the hand that fed it, just to shake things up?
How many decades was it saddled with aches and pains?
How much had it slowed down before the difference
between living and dying became too small to measure,
and did it give itself away then in agreement
or did it fight, like us, for one more wretched inch?



Jean Ryan, a native Vermonter, lives in coastal Alabama. Her debut collection of short stories, Survival Skills, was published by Ashland Creek Press and short-listed for a Lambda Literary Award. Lovers and Loners is her second story collection. She has also published a novel, Lost Sister, a book of nature essays, Strange Company, and a poetry collection, A Day Like This. https://jean-ryan.com/