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.
