POETRY | CHILDREN’S POETRY
Strictly No Turtles
A poem for children of all ages
Once upon a day a girl saved a little turtle
the turtle’s mom was gone
and it was now left all alone
The girl saw a hawk attack the little turtle
to have it as a morning snack
but she scared it off with a smack
The girl took in the little turtle
like it, she also felt so alone
she couldn’t leave it on its own
The girl befriended the little turtle
the two were very much alike
she showed it around with her bike
The girl was fond of the little turtle
and so, it seemed, the turtle was of her
both of their hearts started to recover
The girl was similar to the little turtle
her mommy was gone as well
one day she passed in a hotel
The girl wanted to please the little turtle
so she arranged a surprise for it
she was sure it would adore it
The girl one morning took the little turtle
for a longer trip outside of town
she felt the turtle was feeling down
The girl meant well for the little turtle
she heard of a place for animals and pets
where it was fun and games, with no vets!
The girl took a bus along with the little turtle
but when she arrived at the Pet Club
she found out her little friend was shunned
The girl was sad to hear turtles were banned
‘Strictly No Turtles’ read a large sign
she felt a cold shiver down her spine
The girl could not understand
‘What did turtles ever do? Why ban them?
Do they hate them or not understand them?’
The girl suddenly felt very depressed
all of her zest, all her energy vanished
after her precious friend was banished
The girl started weeping and crying
but after a while a little boy arrived
he saw the sign, drooped and sighed
The little boy did not come alone
a little tortoise was resting in his hands
the boy saw them and queried her plans
The little girl and the little boy
soon started chatting, laughing and joking
each other’s nose their friends were poking
The little children stopped feeling sad
they hanged out together from now on
and they became each other’s Pet Club
Loosely inspired by Lisa Mantchev’s Strictly No Elephants
Subscribe 📬 | Twitter 💙 | Ko-fi ☕️ | Facebook 🤝
I strongly recommend this story written by an actual child, and published by her mother Melissa Gray: