Snail People

See ye now the snail,

so timid,

He crawls upon the sand.

See ye now the snail;

I grasp it,

And crush it in my hand.

 

Poor stupid creatures,

not knowing,

That living in a shell —

Poor stupid creatures,

not living.

A corpse would do as well.

 

See ye now a man,

So lonely

Within his shell — so strange!

See ye now a man;

I wonder:

Why won’t he ever change?

 

Joe Girard © 1982

Reflections on poor interactions