The Frog who wanted to Fly

                                       

The leaves were dark wet green

The water was light wet green

As his mates pranced in the rain

Crock the Frog was barely keeping clean.

Tumbling rains, relentless thunder

Crock was being torn asunder

He longed for dry warm land

Instead, all he got was a swamp.

His dream made his mates laugh

“Did you forget you were just a frog?

Ain’t no such thing as dry land,

This is our life- this old swamp!”

And so the water poured in realms

And as Crock was lost in dreams

Something soft, something silky

Poked his wet hind limbs.

Dazed he opened his eye

And to his surprise, saw a Dragonfly

Her soft wings were wounded

And she was terribly frightened.

But before he could say anything to her

His friend, Droopy called from afar.

“Mate you seen a hurt fly?

I had my tongue on its thigh

But that darn thing vanished in the night.”

“Crock looked at the injured being

“It’s not here”, hoarsely he cried

Those silent eyes stared at him

And suddenly his heart beat inside.

Thus began the best of days

He nursed her wounds and guarded the ways

Before soon she was able to speak

And he heard her lovely squeak.

“Thank you,” she gratefully smiled

But he was lost in her big black eyes

Not seeing him reply, she nervously smiled

And softly mumbled, “You are kind.”

“You are beautiful”, he suddenly blurted.

And for the first time, those black eyes trembled.

Diane the dragonfly was a free spirit

Up and away as she flew

A thousand brutal things she saw

But in this world of fly-eat-fly

This grounded frog was a pleasant surprise.

And so began an unusual story

Full of love, in this world of gory

Different beings, united by feeling.

Belief, hope, dream

Made their ghetto gleam.

Diane hummed stories of distant lands

Where trees touched skies

Orange sun colored the days

And stars whispered at nights.

Crock listened in wonder

His awe astonished her

Soon his mind began to wander

He longed to escape the swamp.

The time came for the swamp’s Platinum Anniversary.

The day when Crock’s ancestors had found this land

Crock made a plan

To escape with Diane.

Now there were eyes in the camp.

Eyes that upheld order and maintained law

Eyes that stabbed questions

Eyes that saw.

Love with an outcast!

How preposterous, how foolish!

Clearly Crock was leaping overboard

A frog’s place was in his well.

When would he understand?

They had hoped Crock’s instincts would kick in

Flies are not meant to be kissed but eaten

But since that didn’t work

It was time for a lesson.

It was a time of festivity and cheer

The Platinum Celebrations marked the year

And as Crock and Diane overcame their fear

They got ready to leave the marsh.

She could not fly past them

So he would carry her in his mouth

And as soon as they were out of sight

She would lead their new life.

It was the night of full moon.

The swamp was illuminated

Frogs were feasting everywhere

On algae salad, weed, spider caviar.

Quietly Crock slipped out

Quietly to the other side he hopped.

The moon smiled, his heart jumped.

The stars shone, his bones thumped.

Finally they reached the other side

“Thank heavens”, Diane flew outside

“I am out of the damp dark cold

I pray I am never stuck in mold!”

“Prey, you say?” A heavy voice grated.

Turning they saw to their horror

The fat community heads seated.

Too lazy to hunt

They made policies all day.

And when they tired of making laws

They lashed their tongues at each other’s jaws.

And when that tired them out

They ate delicacies by poor frogs.

Before Crock could do anything

One of these tongues shot onto Diane

And gulped her down unceremoniously.

Not a chance to scream or cry

To run or to fly.

Crock stared in disbelief

As the old fat toad chewed indifferently.

“One day you will thank us”, said the vermin

“Now let the celebrations begin!”

It was midnight now; the crickets chirped.

Glow worm lighted the bushes

The moon was a delightful sight

As Crock stared into the night.

Too puzzled to believe

Too shocked to think

Too mutilated inside

Crock’s tears had dried.

And the Earth rotated again

The moon fell asleep

The stars went indoors

It was time for some heavy rain.