Summer Winds
Amidst strong winds, John was treading the road
Carrying on his back a heavy load,
It was a pitiful sight
To brave the wind in such plight:
When load fell down, it showed a bag of toads!
the toads do not dive
they plop into the scummy pond
pale green bellies floating beneath them
like airbags
they paddle and back-stroke
through the weedy water
as slow as inflatable boats
when i visit them
i turn into a kid
lobbing pebbles into the spawny drink
to watch them scatter
they remind me of fat men
hastily departing a swimming pool
it is a joke i prank them with
i keep doing this
until they turn to glare at me
heads half-submerged
eyes bulging with indignation
once it began to rain heavily
raindrops crashed into the pond
like exploding peanut shells
.
the toads commenced to croak in unison
the noise almost drowning-out
the sound of the pelting rain
no doubt they were bidding me
to go drown somewhere
the toads do not dive
they plop into the scummy pond
pale green bellies floating beneath them
like airbags
they paddle and back-stroke
through the weedy water
as slow as inflatable boats
when i visit them
i turn into a kid
lobbing pebbles into the spawny drink
to watch them scatter
they remind me of fat men
hastily departing a swimming pool
it is a joke i prank them with
i keep doing this
until they turn to glare at me
heads half-submerged
eyes bulging with indignation
once it began to rain heavily
raindrops crashed into the pond
like exploding peanut shells
.
the toads commenced to croak in unison
the noise almost drowning-out
the sound of the pelting rain
no doubt they were bidding me
to go drown somewhere
Charlotte was confiding her secrets to the teeniest tiniest toads.
they sat and listened with interest. None of her stories was old.
their silence and lack of suggestions was more important than gold.
Charlotte loved sitting by the pond and sharing with her sweet tiny toads.
Though I'm ugly and I'm old,
And I'm fat and I'm bald,
And I'm grey and I'm cold;
I've still a story to be told …
I've never been a handsome prince
As far as I can tell;
Unless I lost my memory
During a witch’s evil spell!
I started my spawned life in a pond,
In that valley, there beyond,
I haven't always been a 'toad-in-the-hole',
I was once, a cute tadpole,
Hmmmn … those were the days.
I'm a source of fear for superstitious folk
The hapless butt of many a joke,
I'm not endearing, or the least bit cute,
With all the charm of a hob-nail-boot.
I’m not a worshiper of the sun,
My warty skin preferring it dank,
So I make my home in a shaded hole,
In a man-made stone hedge, or a bank.
You might think that I'm between
A rock and a hard place,
That I've got my back to the wall,
But it's me that's never worked,
Paid tax or had a mortgage,
And never had to go to school!
Once we shared
the same swizzle stick and paper plate,
ate the casserole no one else wanted,
but then there were the toads.
The Atlantic flushed, hands were washed,
the toads stayed to be reasons why.
I filled a storage unit with them,
at night I hear their forlorn croaking.
I’m hoping they'll evolve,
become less noxious.
You kept your toads also,
and wrote to say,
their warty appearance began to improve
the moment I left.
LITTLE CHILD read the dictionary:
a poem about all things!
Strains of marigold those
shadows of dancing old!
Ashes to ash all-in-all
a mental addiction
burning wells of poetry
all souls a poem
Cut yourself with A's
and create imaginary gardens
with real toads
real change -- the only poem
And Life is brazenly amazing
leaving no time for thought.
is what i heard.
:: 12.28.2021 ::
In the midst of fiery crises
I miss cool, shady oases
O, Fountain, spring forth your fresh water
revive my land to evergreen
O, Abdim's storks, will you perch my neem?
O, white-feather, flaunting egrets
harbingers of rain,
and night croaking toads,
I've missed your glad tidings again
In the midst of hot desert dunes
I miss monsoons
and rows of sorghum
demarcated by a sorrel hedge
I miss evening drizzles
and their running clouds
nightly torrents
and showers between sunshines
I'm a frog, you're a frog,
Everyone's a frog-frog,
On a log, in the bog,
Hiding from the dog-dog.
Horny Toads
Grandpa knew everything,
that was needed to be known,
always.
I stayed every summer,
from the time before I remember,
until the time I pray,
never to forget.
We worked in the garden.
We dug holes, and planted seeds.
Everything was new to me.
Miracles were in the garden.
Tiny things that most miss.
an ant, a spider, a snake,
and if you are very, very lucky…
you will find,
a toad…with horns.
Unicorns are in the bible.
God had Noah build an ark.
We are small "He" is tall,
and wonders…
never cease,
when Grandpa…
goes to plant vegetables.
Toads are in your eyeballs! Wow! Let me see.
They are invisible, he told me, glaring.
Okay, I agree. But they are there right?
Not now, he says, with a huge scowl. You scared them off.
I have five minutes, I say. Tell me how it happened.
His arms are crossed now. He stomps off.
What did I do? I ask his mother.
Hard to say, she replies. Maybe it is because he thought you did not believe him.
We both laugh
A door gets slammed hard.
Twice, just so we know it was no accident.
Story of frogs, toads, salamanders and newts
Crocodiles, seals, beavers with flutes.
These cold-blooded moist skins
Amphibians with twins
Live on land and sea in custom wet suits
Wash Those Froggies, Wash Those Froggies,
Dirty Froggies Get Eaten By Moggies.
Don't Be Mean, Get Them Clean
While You Read Your Magazine.
sweet rainy season
alike voice of toads in ponds
no sound when dried up
I never understood the saying
"It's raining cats and dogs".
It would make a lot more sense
If it was raining toads and frogs!
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