Tarquin the tortoise

Tarquin the Tortoise lived on his own
Improving the patterns of his mind
His brothers and sisters all left him well alone
For he always made them feel they were stupid and blind
All day long he would lie in the sun
Watching the eagles in the sky
Watching the way, they were carried on the wind
Wondering why he could never fly

But he knew in his heart that the day would soon come
And then, like an eagle, he would fly, towards the sun
Sometimes at night, when no one was around
He'd try and run and jump into the air
But he never could go fast enough, to get him off the ground
And he'd give up in exhaustion and bitter dispair
Surely the secret was his to be found
He knew he had the power to succeed
Why should a tortoise be anchored to the ground
Just because he lacked a little speed
If only the eagle would carry him on high
Then, freed from the earth, he knew, that he would fly

So he spoke to the eagle, who laughed at him in scorn
And showed him the feathers in his wings
You will alwasy be a tortoise, for that's how you were born
So occupy your mind with more tortoise-like things
No cried Tarquin, that cannot be so
For my soul is the soul of a bird
In my mind I've seen things, of which tortoises don't know
And I've listened to things, they've never heard
Take me on your back, to the roof of the sky
And I'll leap from your shoulders and show you, that I can fly

Poor fool, said the eagle, you better come along
And put your theory to the test
You know you are right, and I know you are wrong
And both of us believe that we know best
Spreading out his wings, he rose towards the sky
And Tarquin rode with him on the wind
And he knew the joy and freedom of how it felt to fly
And leave the simple earth so far behind
And he sprang from the eagle, as he felt his powers grow
And he dropped like a stone to his death, on the rocks below.