Life Unconcerned

• Cayley Ferguson, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2022

The little snail crept along the path of blackened char
Two beady eyes detached from the horrors he couldn’t face
With his shell hanging in shreds and salt scattered, leaving scars
He creeps along, oblivious to this dark, forsaken place

This two-centimetre tall being has left a trail kilometres long
Unnoticed and unoffended as shots are passed back and forth above his head
This little snail lives a world inside his shell, retreating from the chaotic throng
Life seen through a tiny mind, too blind to comprehend impending death

He journeys forward, unfearful of the chaos, of life’s many complexities
He slithers on one foot, grateful and unaware of the advantages of those who have two
He takes his time with no compulsion to hurry, to run ahead recklessly
He enjoys the peaceful silences, the absence of lies lets him live in truth

This little snail will one day meet a hill too great to climb
He will be fertiliser for the plants and his life will be nothing more than a lingering aftertaste
But this happy, peaceful little snail doesn’t seem to mind
He lives his life unconcerned and in doing that he has become a story. Become immortalised. Become great.