Tortoise and Snail

Said a snail to a tortoise, 'We're slow coaches, both,
So let us delight in the value of sloth.
For relaxing and dozing we don't require speed.'
'Let's do nothing but sleep,' the wise tortoise agreed.

So ended the friends' short and sweet conversation
For now it was time for their long hibernation.
They wished one another 'Good night' and 'Sleep well',
Together in spirit, alone in each shell.

At last, after long months of sleeping through hail
And fogs, frosts and snowstorms, the tortoise and snail
Emerged and, remembering the words they'd just spoken,
Continued to natter, the second they'd woken.

So, if you fall asleep when in mid-conversation,
Remember these friends and, with no hesitation,
Continue to chat and, with practice, you'll see
That nobody notices. Take it from me!

poem © Celia Warren 2013

After yesterday's sunshine, it was a return to thick fog today. Meanwhile ... had a good laugh last night - caught the end of Dartmouth's Festival of Comedy, when I got one of the last tickets to see Dr Phil Hammond in his touring show, Rude Health: very funny rhetoric, interspersed with serious comment on the state of health care in the UK.