Jacqueline Lucas
Don't touch the tortoises
Today we went to visit George
Last survivor of the Pinta tribe
He’s caused quite a stir in these parts
as to his history, his date of birth.
To continue the line every effort must be made
the local girls brought in
to share his designated spot
to see if they can woo him out of celibacy.
When it finally happened
he gave a roar
he moved right in
It never took
George is not what he was
once
His age a well kept secret
I empathise
Finally a Swiss biologist was employed
to masturbate him daily
at first with gloves
till George got sore from all the sudden interest
below
And he doesn’t let just anyone inside
She cried when she left
Now George has turned a corner
Heartbroken he renounces all female company.
The girls lay up to twelve eggs at a time
and store them for a year or more till they find the right spot
I’ll settle for one
But George has lost interest
and we are both the other side of thirty five
Besides
I was told not to touch
Page(s) 5
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- Lamport Court
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- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
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- Poetry London (1951)
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- Poetry Salzburg Review
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- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
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- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
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- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
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- Yellow Crane, The