Two Little Box Turtles

Two little box turtles

today

stuck their

grandpa-shaped

heads 

out in the rain

on the road

like hitch-hiking thumbs

wrinkled 

innocent

red-eyed and bald.

Two little box

turtles

minding their

own lives

in shells

that are their spines

tough against

teeth

but against tires

not so much.

We ran over 

them,

I saw the whole

disaster unfold

twice

through the big 

windshield

of the box truck

and my heart 

cracked

under the pressure

as well.

Two little 

box turtles

confused on the road

one little heart

still grieving

sad as a toad

the big box truck

still rolling

delivering its load.