Oh, glorious and mysterious and wonderful creature

Before I knew of your oh so humbling features

I knew not the reaches of beauty in nature

But now I can see your elegance and mien

Outlined in the glowing stars of Ursa Major

Oh, having seen your dazzling sheen

Your enchanting colors, earthy and green

The wonders of nature are suddenly seen



I hear how the winds howl for you

How the lonely wolves cry not to the moon

Can you hear in their voices? It’s for you that they croon

When the beastly lion was crowned the king

They must’ve not heard how pleasantly you sing

For anyone who heard your siren-like tune

Would certainly crown you before the break of noon



Any creature, shark or flea

Surely admires the allure of he

The toad

The creation so splendid and fair

A sure sign that of nature, we should take good care

jumping jacks
slimy smiles
fantastic froggy

Happily Never After (the Second Curse of the ***** Toad)
by Michael R. Burch

He did not think of love of Her at all
frog-plangent nights, as moons engoldened roads
through crumbling stonewalled provinces, where toads
(nee princes) ruled in chinks and grew so small
at last to be invisible. He smiled
(the fables erred so curiously), and thought
bemusedly of being reconciled
to human flesh, because his heart was not
incapable of love, but, being cursed
a second time, could only love a toad’s . . .
and listened as inflated frogs rehearsed
cheekbulging tales of anguish from green moats . . .
and thought of her soft croak, her skin fine-warted,
his anemic flesh, and how true love was thwarted.

Originally published by Romantics Quarterly. Keywords/Tags: frog, *****, toad, prince, princess, curse, kiss, fable, true, love, magic, spell, croak, kingdom

how do you still make my heart
fester and swell and thump thumpity
jump to the brim of my throat
like a frog waiting to belch it’s
morning croak croakity—
choking back his thick, velvety shot of tarish espresso
knowing **** well there was nothing else in the world
he wanted to drink drinkity, let
sink sinkity into the lining of his stomach
to drown out the fluttering butterflies
of self afflicting lust. tsk.

and now i can’t even look your way,
without feeling like I took a step
steppity
LEPT too far, and i missed the lilypad
by an inch!
so of course, I splashed splashity
crashed into its chill— still surface,
distorting it and rippling my surroundings
still while being submerged
in this silly, suffocating. pond i call
delusion.

w.c.

As the fox watches in the bushes, He notices two frogs minding their existence.
The fox stares at the water dwellers with ill intent in his heart, but as the fox waits for a time to strike. He soon comes to realize that he would intrude upon a scene he was not meant to see. As the fox retreats from the pond, much to the dismay of his empty stomach, he finds that his companion brought something for both of them.

A fish can say to a frog
   "I am a tree
    And you a leaf"
But that doesn't make it so
In truth or shade
Midst nature and in light
They were designed as neither such to be
On top of which
It's different languages they speak

All the animals have come to play,
before you gently rest your head.
They have been waiting all day,
to see you before you to go to bed.

The bunny excitedly jumps around,
wiggling his nose, not making a sound.
The teddy bear, a faithful friend,
hopes the friendship will never end.

The lion awakens from his slumber,
his growl as loud as thunder.
The panda eats his bamboo,
thinking he is lucky to have found you.

The frog with his body of green,
jumps on the bed with dangling feet.
Do not forget the elephant with floppy ears
for drying up your tiny tears.

ALesiach © 11/6/2014

i often wonder
if perfection
is attainable
in simple things
like a rose
although it has thorns.
like the neon frogs
despite its poison.
like the sun
despite it's blinding beauty.
in you,
although all you've ever done is hurt me