Still running to catch up

Yesterday was supposed to be a "science" poem. I keep trying to write about snails. Here's a half-assed effort to do so. A cursory glance at Wikipedia suggests that snails don't really use a foot-mouth, but what the hell. They don't build shells out of fear, either.

there is a snail in Catalonia

that builds its own shell

from slime, salt, and fear

from naked birth it runs

in ever-tightening circles

until it can’t get out again

no more than two beady eyes

that look at what it can see

and one viscous mouth/foot

that swallows the unseen

it is bitter to eat

better to avoid