Oh Frog Oh Flower Oh Butterfly

 

Oh Frog

I remember when you were a little pollywog
swimming in the stinky mucky pond
in the field across the street
We laughing children waded in to catch you and
your brethren swimming like little wondering fish
We didn’t think
We splashed and stared into the murk
and chattered about anything that popped into our
minds
popped out of our mouths like the same air bubbles
that you blew
oh we all had air bubbles
we were all in the stinky pond
And we didn’t have to think.

Then when you grew to a great green noble frog
and made music in the afternoons and nights
beautiful music to fill a heart with mystery
oh great frog what are you calling for?





Oh Flower
I do remember when you were but the tiniest seed
In fact I may have mixed you up with others you were
so tiny like a bit of tiniest straw nothingness
I might have brushed you off my hair and
you fell into that hole and what do you know
in just a day or so
you changed into a sprout of green at first one thin exclamation point
then turning into a semaphore
peeping up through the dirt
I don’t think the dirt hurt
though you were breaking up through her
And you stole bits of her and gathered them into yourself
you brought them up to the light
and offered them to the sun like a little tiny elf
I remember your first proud buds and your
surprising flowers so adept at all those petals
uncurling into perfectness.

 

Oh Butterfly

I remember you eating  flower
oh you were such a frightening worm with  a million little feet
you had strange eyes on your rear
and you were so serious about getting where you had to go
Eating and eating and marching with such intense intention
the flower stood bravely and did not fight you
but offered her self in  meekness
I kind of wondered if you would survive as the
early bird arrived
but chose to dine on your sister instead 
You didn’t look up nor wave good-bye
you might have sent her cordial wishes in your dreams
I wouldn’t know 
 You had another aim and so you
kept on eating and ignored the awful pain and fear
at your sister’s tears
Oh but that was when you were but a caterpillar
You were a  silly roly poly sort of worm
I remember one day you wiggled off
And I didn‘t see you until one day when I saw
you clinging to a leaf
your wings drying
for a brief time you were so vulnerable but it was the risk you had to take
then your wings took shape
aloft aloft into the breeze you teased me as I leapt to reach you.

I saw you on many days after that
You fluttered about the bushes and the flowers
alighting on the branch of the Jacaranda tree
You smiled down at me
from your high place.

I must say that I was a little sad when frog ate you.




Tara Strohmeier copyright June 2012