Snapping Turtle

Hey y’all, I’m a turtle meant for snapping
I grew up in the hood , where it’s happening, I learned rapping
In the water I’m shy, won’t even try, to look you in the eye
On land i’m aggressive and looking for food, I’m always rude, in a bad mood

My reputation precedes me, decrees me, guarantees me respect
But I won’t be defined, maligned or undermined, act unrefined
By anyone’s expectations, let them project manifestations,
Of what a snapping turtle should be, I will define my destiny

I have dreams and desire, ambitions before I retire
I don’t have that turtle wrath, I’m not cut from the same cloth
My genes program the means by which my proteins
Are synthesized, realized, assembled like an archetype, phenotype

But that’s where the story ends, you see, I’m bright, erudite, curious not furious
Discerning and yearning for education
Of course I gotta eat, it might be meat, or leaves and fruit, but the root
Of my drive, is not a will to survive it’s for meaning, relation, self-actualization

My neighborhood’s muddy, but I choose to study, not bloody
Other creatures for sport, or fight, where might makes right,
For with growing confidence,
I can afford that the pen is mightier than the sword

For not following the horde, inner peace is my reward
What’s right, is not always black and white
Two sides to a story, no glory, in taking down the other side,
Just to hide behind your tribe, to take part in their ritual,
We are all individual, seek the high road not the habitual

I’m a turtle, I get quizzical looks, but I’m getting back to my books
Knowledge is the power, to sort the wheat from the chaff,
The truth from a cheap laugh, the authentic from the riff raff,
Be the master of your dominion,form your own opinion

I’m not striving for fame, or the biggest brain, for art and rings and material things
I’m not immortal, life is tortile, peaks and troughs, trade-offs,
But my mind is yearning, burning, still fertile
for learning, so on my last day , I can say, I was a worthy snapping turtle