My friend and I were not poetry lovers. To pass English 101
we spent our summer reading and from memory reciting 500 lines
of poetry. Recently we got together rehashing old times. He said,
"You--are writing poetry?" And, "Five hundred lines of poetry was
too much for me. By the way I memorized five hundred lines of
Shakespeare what did you memorize?" Well, "Casey at Bat, all three
versions, Rudyard Kipling's,"IF" "Now I lay me down to sleep" and
the Lords Prayer." He emailed me this:
Ode to a toad
I see you sitting there
all green and still
poised to jump
to Lord know where
What is the purpose
For your being?
No one cares
Have you no feelings?
You won't be eaten
Your nasty warts
Are poison to the taste
So motionless there
on your stump
contemplating what the
day has waiting
I pick you up
Slam you hard against a tree
you fall to the earth
on a bed of leaves
On your back
Your limbs extended
Are you hurt?
or are you faking?
Oh my God!
My heart is breaking
Did I do this foul
deed forsaking?
Then I smile and
laugh out loud until
My belly is aching
Then turn and walk away