Wendy E. Kaplan
What The Turtle Taught Me
(Poetry) is the voice within the voice of the turtle.
—Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Today I saved a turtle in the road,
at least until it turns around again,
to go the crazy way a turtle goes:
away from safety nine times out of ten.
Like when I cross the border to a state
at once familiar, happy, sad and strange,
a mix I never quite anticipate
in my denying mind that knows no change.
Each time I hope at last I will arrive
at channels clear to salt-free seas, to drink
abundant nectar I have been deprived,
if only as I swim I do not sink.
The turtle taught me how to travel well:
Cross borders cautiously and wear a shell.
Bio
In June, 2012, Wendy E. Kaplan graduated with her Certificate in Poetry from the Downtown Writers Center in Syracuse, NY. After applying and being accepted to eight Master of Fine Arts programs in creative writing, she opted for this more frugal community-based alternative, which models itself after the MFA. Her poems to date have appeared or are forthcoming in The Healing Muse, Edison Literary Review, H_NGM_N, Written Wardrobe, Golden Sparrow Literary Review, and Jerseyworks. Her next goal is to publish her manuscript of poems that was the culminating project for the Downtown Writers Center. She is also beginning work on a new collection. In addition to poetry, Wendy has her Masters in Social Work and has practiced as a mental health counselor at a community agency and as a grief therapist at Hospice of Central New York. This summer she looks forward to working for the Cape May County Library in Wildwood, NJ and may do some part-time counseling work as well. She divides her time between homes in Cape May and Syracuse.