FROGS!

We had a house until last year,

In a small town not far from here.

We’d seen it first in early spring,

And fell in love, it was charming.

We moved in, it was July,

Did lots of work, I made it mine.

The special thing about this home,

Was a big pond in which swam Koi.

In summertime, oh goodness me,

You’ve never seen so much beauty!

A great tableau, just like Monet,

Waterlilies in pastel shades.

Dragonflies bright cobalt blue

Fairy helicopters, I swear it’s true,

Goldfish shimmied under the surface,

Flirting with Koi, their fancier brothers.

A weeping pine, a laid-back sort,

Its drooping branches tickled the water.

Along the verge riots of roses,

Giggled with delphiniums, daisies, cosmos.

Now that you’re charmed by what you see,

Thinking, “gee, she’s so lucky!”

Let me tell you about the frogs

Those sleepless nights, the elusive plops!

One night in spring, our first one there,

Loud sounds of croaking filled the air.

My husband glanced at me wide-eyed,

“Cesca”, he said, “what’s that outside?”

And all at once it dawned on us,

The frogs’ spring lovefest had begun!

We rushed outside in our pjs,

Thinking we’d shoo those frogs away.

Those sneaky frogs had waterbeds,

They used our lily pads for sex!

We had to act, this was a bitch!

Now tadpoles swam among the fish!

We bought flashlights and headlamps too,

Four fishing nets and Welly boots.

We’d venture out when darkness fell,

Vowing to silence those decibels.

Those croaky suckers were so quick,

We had to learn the catching tricks.

Then every night for weeks and weeks,

We hunted down those noisy creeps.

Please believe me when I say,

No harm became our amphibian prey.

Into a container they nimbly plopped

We drove them somewhere else to hop.

A wildlife reserve just up the road,

They made new friends, hung out with toads.

Spring after spring, night after night,

We’d go frog hunting with flashlights.