Page:Tortoises, DH Lawrence, 1921.djvu/29

 Rh Except that papa and mama are old acquaint- ances, of course, But family feeling there is none, not even the beginnings.

Fatherless, motherless, brotherless, sisterless Little tortoise.

Row on then, small pebble, Over the clods of the autumn, wind-chilled sun- shine, Young gayety.

Does he look for a companion?

No, no, don't think it. He doesn't know he is alone; Isolation is his birthright, This atom.

To row forward, and reach himself tall on spiny toes, To travel, to burrow into a little loose earth, afraid of the night, To crop a little substance, To move, and to be quite sure that he is moving: Basta! Rh