Once upon a midnight dreary, I sat by the pond, weak and weary.
I sat upon a stone and pondered the life of my poor Theodore
My thoughts were interrupted by a splash, maybe a duck had moved so fast
I left the depths of my mind to look and see what I would find, but there I saw
My turtle, Theodore  
   
As I remember from years back, I had opened my heart and gave him a snack
And the lettuce piece that I had fed him before formed our friendship, that lasted nevermore
Though my mind had wandered once again, I was suddenly reminded of my friend
He nibbled at my hand, and my heart knew it was him although my sight was poor
My heart could feel my good little Theodore

And the slow, sluggish, constant paddling of each green flipper
Shocked me - rocked my ever changing world that I had never experienced before;
So that now, he came to land, as I stretched out my loving hand
Although I had a hard time believing, he stretched out his neck and whispered suddenly:
“I am here forever more.”

My love grew stronger and I could not have waited any longer,
I saw the smile upon his face and knew what to do;
So I picked up my turtle and walked to the door for that was all that I longed for,
And so gently he was snapping, snapping at his new cage door
“This is your home now, my lovely Theodore”