Tortoises

In Short

This work is a series of interconnected poems that meditate on the life cycle of the tortoise. It begins with the birth of a tiny, solitary creature and follows its development into an adult, culminating in the visceral, often painful experience of mating. Through these observations, the poet explores the tension between our natural desire for self-contained isolation and the biological imperative to seek union with another. It has endured as a profound reflection on the vulnerability of the individual and the inescapable, often jarring, reality of human longing.

The Story

The narrative opens with the birth of a baby tortoise, an event of immense, quiet gravity. The poet watches this "tiny, fragile, half-animate bean" as it slowly heaves itself from its shell. It is a lonely, stoic emergence into a vast, inanimate universe. The infant tortoise is characterized by its "indomitable" will; it is a "Little Ulysses" setting forth on a journey across the garden, rowing with four pinned toes, entirely content in its own isolation. The poet finds beauty in this solitude, describing the creature as an "atom" that carries the weight of all creation on its tiny shoulders, moving with a "slow dignity" that remains untouched by any need for companionship.

As the tortoise matures, the poem shifts to examine the intricate architecture of its shell. This "first eternal mathematical tablet" reflects a complex internal order, a "complex, manifold involvedness" that seems etched by divine law. Yet, this orderly existence is soon disrupted by the arrival of others. The poet observes the family—father, mother, and siblings—moving about the garden like "perambulating pebbles." There is no familial bond or recognition; they exist in a state of profound apathy, each a self-contained island.

The story’s focus then narrows to the relationship between an "earthy," matronly female and a smaller, more delicate male. Initially, the male is the epitome of a "lonely rambler," dignified and immune to the world. However, his adolescence brings a cruel shift. He is "crucified into sex," his peaceful isolation broken by an irrepressible, agonizing need to seek completion in another. He becomes a "poor little earthy house-inhabiting Osiris," forced to pursue the indifferent female. The poet describes this pursuit as a "harrowing" and "ignominious" necessity. The male, once a stoic, is transformed into an awkward suitor, trailing the female and biting her ankles in a desperate, grim attempt to bridge the distance between them.

The climax arrives when the poet hears the male tortoise cry out during mating. This "coition yell"—a faint, super-audible scream—shatters the silence of the creature's existence. It is a sound of agony, triumph, and profound submission. The poet reflects on this scream as the "Osiris-cry of abandonment," a universal sound of a soul torn asunder. The final realization is that sex serves as a violent, necessary bridge. By breaking the individual’s integrity and inviolability, it forces a cry from the depths, compelling the creature to call out across the void in search of a complement, ultimately seeking to reunite the self with the whole.

How It Unfolds

The birth of the atom The poem introduces the baby tortoise as a solitary, struggling pioneer emerging into a vast and indifferent universe. It emphasizes the creature's innate, indomitable will as it begins its slow, lonely trek across the garden earth.

The mathematics of the shell The focus shifts to the geometric precision of the tortoise’s armor, which the poet views as a physical manifestation of eternal law. This section suggests that even in such a small creature, there exists a complex, written order to life.

The encounter with the family The poet observes the tortoise moving among its kin, noting the total lack of affection or recognition between them. Each tortoise remains an island, unaware of its fellows and perfectly comfortable in that total isolation.

The descent into desire The tranquil life of the male is irrevocably altered by the onset of sexual longing. The poet describes this as a "crucifixion," where the once-immune individual is forced into an awkward, humiliating pursuit of the female.

The final, piercing cry The collection culminates in the startling discovery that the "dumb" tortoise can scream during the act of mating. This sound links the reptile's experience to the broader, universal struggle of all living things to find completion through the pain of connection.

The People

The baby tortoise serves as the primary protagonist, representing the pure, uncorrupted state of existence. He is a "Little Ulysses," a small, stoic traveler who embodies the strength required to navigate a chaotic world. His journey is one of transition: from an independent, self-sufficient "atom" to a being broken by the demands of biology.

The female tortoise is depicted as a large, matronly, and somewhat cynical figure. She is the "reptile mistress," characterized by her earthy apathy and her single-minded focus on food. She stands as an obstacle to the male, not out of malice, but through a total lack of concern or awareness, representing the indifferent reality of the world that the male must navigate.

The male tortoise undergoes the most dramatic evolution. Initially a dapper, dignified wanderer, he becomes the victim of his own desire. His struggle to reconnect with the female represents the "long crucifixion of desire," highlighting the inherent loss of self-sufficiency that comes with seeking love. He transitions from an immune observer to a desperate seeker, ultimately paying for his completion with his own silence.

The poet acts as the observer and interpreter, moving from a detached curiosity to a deep, empathetic identification with the tortoises. He does not seek to domesticate or sentimentalize them; instead, he uses them as a lens to examine his own memories of life, birth, and the "Osiris-cry" that defines the human experience.

In Its Own Voice

The poet captures the essence of the tortoise’s solitary beginning, emphasizing the sheer difficulty of its first movements:

You know what it is to be born alone, Baby tortoise! The first day to heave your feet little by little from the shell, Not yet awake, And remain lapsed on earth, Not quite alive.

Reflecting on the complex structure of the shell, the poet links the animal to ancient wisdom:

It needed Pythagoras to see life placing her counters on the living back Of the baby tortoise; Life establishing the first eternal mathematical tablet.

Describing the startling transformation brought on by desire, the poet equates the tortoise’s struggle to the human condition:

The cross, The wheel on which our silence first is broken, Sex, which breaks up our integrity, our single inviolability, our deep silence Tearing a cry from us.

What It's Really About

At its core, this work is an investigation into the cost of existence. It poses a fundamental question: is it better to be "rounded off and finished" in one’s own isolation, or to be torn open by the need for another? The tortoise serves as a perfect vehicle for this argument because its hard shell provides an ideal symbol for the ego’s desire for protection and independence. The "cross" mentioned repeatedly is not merely a religious symbol, but a metaphor for the intersection of the individual's inner silence and the external demands of the living world. The work suggests that while connection—whether sexual or spiritual—is the only way to heal our sense of fragmentation, the process of achieving that union is inherently destructive to the self.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate poetry that blends precise, almost scientific observation with raw, metaphysical inquiry will find this collection deeply resonant. The language is sharp and unadorned, stripping away the sentimentality often found in animal studies to reveal something harder and more ancient. You will encounter a writer who is unflinchingly honest about the "crucifixion" of desire, documenting the tortoise’s struggles not as cute antics, but as a grueling, ageless labor.

The work is not an easy read; it demands that you sit with the silence of the garden and the "horror" of the male’s pursuit. However, it is precisely this lack of comfort that makes it memorable. The poet’s ability to connect the faint, reptilian scream of a mating tortoise to the broader human experience of birth, labor, and abandonment is haunting. If you are interested in the ways we attempt to define our boundaries and the inevitable, painful ways those boundaries are breached, these poems offer a rare and powerful perspective. It is a book that stays with you, reminding you of the "soundless bell" of your own presence in a chaotic, inanimate world, and the persistent, irrational drive to reach out and make a sound.