A Snail's Pace Poem by Jim Yerman

We were finishing up our morning walk when there beneath our feet
we saw a snail on the sidewalk…getting up the nerve to cross the street.

As I looked down from up above I felt somewhat conflicted
for my world is so far-reaching and the snail's so restricted.

I felt bad but then I thought perhaps my thinking is defective
for, when it comes to a snail's world, I imagine
the joy's in the perspective.

From where the snail crawls…bringing his shell for safe refuge
I imagine he…like me, thinks his world is pretty huge.

And there's something to be said for a life with little worry…
where you find your food along the ground and you're never in a hurry.

I thought I would help this snail…that the normal laws of nature we'd defy
So I picked him up and took him across the street…
in a way I showed him how to fly.

I set him down in the grass where he now had more time to eat or dance or play…
"No need to thank me Mr. Snail." I said as we happily walked away.

I was feeling pretty good about myself…this I must concede
even though helping a snail cross the road…is but a minuscule good deed.

"What if that snail had already crossed the road? " Deborah asked
"What if you threw off the day he had planned
by picking him up and putting him back in the place where he began? "

Of course she was correct…
for I surely had no way of knowing
If, when we first saw Mr. Snail
He was coming or he was going….

But I have learned my lesson…
even though with this snail I couldn't atone…
The next time I see a snail beneath my feet…
I'll leave well enough alone.