Thursday, March 13, 2025

Poetry Friday: "An Interruption" by Robert S. Foote



Continuing last week's theme of empathy and kindness: 


An Interruption
by Robert S. Foote


A boy had stopped his car
To save a turtle in the road;
I was not far
Behind, and slowed,
And stopped to watch as he began
To shoo it off into the undergrowth—

This wild reminder of an ancient past,
Lumbering to some Late Triassic bog,
Till it was just a rustle in the grass,
....
(Read the rest here.) 

~~~~~~~~~~


Photo thanks to giorgos250 at Pixabay

12 comments:

Janice.scully@.gmail.com said...

I love the ending of this gentle poem. Thank you for sharing Foote’s work!

Karen Edmisten said...

It's lovely, isn't it, Janice? I loved the ending too. :)

laurasalas said...

What a wonderful moment and poem. The voice reminded me of Frost. Thank you, Karen--I didn't know this poem!

Karen Edmisten said...

I didn't know this one either, Laura. I was scrolling through The Writer's Almanac looking for inspiration and found it. It's hard to find much about the poet online, though I did see that he's from Vermont. :)

jama said...

Great poem, Karen!!! Such a lovely moment captured there. Len often stops for turtles too. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

Why am I not surprised that Len stops for turtles too? :) I love that, Jama! :)

Carol Varsalona said...

The poem you shared is touching and the ending should be read by many. It is unfortunate that empathy and kindness are not practiced by all.

Mary Lee said...

I have two save-the-turtle-on-the-road memories. One was a big snapper that I carefully escorted across a road at a curve where we would both have been in more danger if it hadn't been on my early morning before-school commute. The other was a small turtle that was stuck between the railroad tracks. That one I was able to lift out and carry to safety. So this poem resonates. Even feels a little personal!

Linda Kulp Trout said...

Such a touching poem! My husband stops for turtles, squirrels, and any other critter that happens to cross in front of us. I wish everybody did that, but sadly, I've seen people who don't. Thank you for sharing this poem.

Rose Cappelli said...

What a tender poem, Karen. Last week I was stopped in a line of cars as people tried to rustle two dogs off the road. Escapees, I suspect, relying on the kindness of others.

Karen Edmisten said...

Carol, I couldn't agree more!
Linda, your husband is so kind. :)
Rose, that restores one's faith in humanity, doesn't it? :)

Karen Edmisten said...

Mary Lee, I just found your comment in my Spam folder (no idea why, it's usually good at catching only the genuine spam comments), so it just published. Your stories are so sweet! You have your own poems to write about turtles now!