Dreams, Deception, Despair, and My Shell
by Jennifer Biss

In a world of her own,
In her private little shell,
There was once a turtle,
Who told me her tale.

"I learned quite young my friend,
In this story that I tell,
That the safest place to be,
is deep inside my shell.

Hidden away from hurt,
From feelings and from pain,
I gain nothing to lose,
and I lose nothing I gain.

You see, my friend,
In a time yet long ago,
I was hurt and hurt badly,
Much pain did I forego.

By someone I thought wonderful,
Though plain it was for all to see,
All pain inflicted he did enjoy,
And much pain did he inflict on me.

But I loved him anyway,
Stoody by him all I could,
Though in the end it mattered not,
He died, long before he should.

By his own hand, in fact,
For his own life he took,
Thinking only for himself,
At those around him he did not look.

He's gone now, yes, gone for good,
But the sad thing is you see,
I told him how much I love him,
But he never did love me.

He uttered not a word,
Or a deed to let me know,
That he, my father, loved me,
And thus it did not show.

So I hid myself, deep within my shell,
As I watched the world go by,
I didn't believe in love at all,
We were here to live, and soon thereafter die.

I stayed hidden for the longest time,
Forever in my shell I would remain.
Judging all, most as fools,
Those I thought insane.

But then one day, the sweetest voice I heard,
One who proclaimed to be true,
Who said the words I hadn't heard,
That on my ears felt new.

He asked me to open up,
But in my shell I stayed,
He didn't seem to understand,
That once fear lives you stay afraid.

But then one day, a miracle occurred,
I cracked my shell a tiny bit,
To hear more clearly the voice I'd heard.

He proclaimed to me that he was the sun,
That he could brighten the darkest night,
That great and glorious things would come,
With his gift, the gift of sight.

Though my fears still lived on,
I opened up to see the sights,
And to see with him,
At the most glorious of heights.

And as out of my shell I came,
I hope for things that had never been,
And dreamed for what could never be.

When I came out, I looked up into the sun,
But the light was too bright to bear,
And I was blinded for moments to come,
While he told me that he cared.

It merely heightened my fears to see it so,
Those fears, which I've foretold,
Those fears that came to me, when young,
Have only strengthened, now, when I am old.

And then I had a choice to make,
For the sun was scary to me,
To stay and be scared forever more,
Or re-enter my world of privacy.

So I drew my shell tightly closed,
And would let no one get through,
Or let them persuade me once again,
To do what they bid me do.

And so, here I remain, safe as safe could be
Watching fools numerous go by, almost
Everyone I see.

And this place, my friend, I find the best,
This private shell of my very own,
My quiet little nest.

Now you have heard my story,
My humble yet true tale,
Of my vast experience and fears,
And of my little shell.

And after this, I have but one thing to say,
So hear me, hear me well,
The safest place to be my fellow,
Is deep inside your shell."