the dog, the dove, the turtle

a tale of hate, violence, and love for the 21st century

the dog, the dove, the turtle
decided to go to war
they trained and trained and trained some more
for they were going to war

they finally concluded
that the time was ripe
they would set out on their mission
at the first sign of light

they reached their destination
they conquered all they saw
a duck, a fawn, a grizzly bear with an injured paw

the dog, the dove, the turtle
with nothing else to kill
turned upon each other
their training with them still

the dove pecked out the turtle’s eyes
the dog he ate the dove
then he died of loneliness and the lack of love

Paul Cech has been writing poetry since 1970. Several of his poems have been published as Saturday Poems in the Pittsburgh- Post Gazette and the Thomas Merton Center of Pittsburgh has published several of his poems in NewPeople. Read other articles by Paul.