We learned that turtles do not age while aging –
a paradox for our senescent species,
with stiffened joints, soft bones, and sagging skin,
while timeless turtles every race will win,
as we go into that good night still raging.
Ectotherms possess longevity:
Komodo dragons, salamanders, frogs.
Long life demands a gentle aging curve.
For us the energy for sex must serve
instead of tissue's mending remedy.
Aging rates in certain crocodiles
are low, near nil in tortoises and turtles.
Less risky, sluggish-pace metabolism
gave these geezers cause for optimism
about the destined ways of Nature's wiles.
But even these still lack eternal youth.
In time, like humans, hearts and eyesight weaken,
as cataracts and feebleness expand.
To just survive they must be fed by hand.
We fail outpacing death – our final truth.