So…I’ve never posted any poetry on this blog before. But before I turned to nonfiction and, more recently, fiction, I wrote a ton of poetry. Animals are one of my primary subjects since they seem so immune to the stressors that plague humans. I figure every now and then I’ll post one of my shorter pieces for the sake of variety.
Toad at Overlook
Magisterial,
you presided over night,
crouching in a nimbus
of yellow light outside our door.
Indifferent to our approach,
sagacious Buddha,
scourge of crickets.
Some background on this piece: When I lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, there was a huge toad that sat outside our apartment door at night. This clever amphibian had figured out that insects were drawn to the light from our door, so she parked there and gobbled up crickets and other bugs. All our lives should be so complete.
How do we know the toad is a “she?”
Great question! When it comes to frogs and toads, females are generally larger than the males and this toad was REALLY big. So we assumed it was a “she.”