The snail and I

One rainy morning, who did I see on the floor?
It was snail that was lost a long way from home
Perhaps the wind blew him in through the door
Or he hitched a ride on my shoe the night before

As I held him by his shell and placed him in my hand
Into his safe den he scampered away to hide
I wanted naught but to lead him back to his land
But scared as he was, he could not read my mind

Soon he must have seen that I meant no harm
For he crawled out of his shell into my palm
He stood there long with his slimy flesh laid bare
Looking at me as if to say "Hey, hello there"

I wondered at his naivete (or was it courage immense?)
That let him stand that way, with no shell, no defense
Of all the souls on earth, why did he place this trust in me?
No more than a stranger was I, but what kinship did he see?

A long time has now passed since the snail and I
Crossed paths for a moment in our journey of life
But even to this day, I smile as I remember
That beautiful moment of his realized surrender