frog and human

This is a poem that I wrote just a few years ago.

Frog and Human Alike.

There is a grossness about a frog, something appalling.

A glimpse of a frog provokes a nervous apprehension and strange discomfort

deep within me that is highly suspicious.

Am I feeling a primal fear that I might revert to my animal origin

and lose my humanity just by looking at a frog?

But still this odd creature touches my heart and I want to understand why.

So I looked for the similarities between being frog and being human.

I suspect that to sit on the ground probably feels the same to a frog as it feels to me.

The broad hind quarters rest on the earth in a familiar way.

The limbs fold up or touch out for stability, and reach out to explore or secure.

From the head, eyes and ears and nose and skin take in the world.

Both frog and human perceive and feel life, we both respond emotionally.

The sun shines warm or the wind blows cold over frog and human alike.

We both long to protect and promote our lives.

I see myself in the frog, and in you alike.

.... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

When I email this poem to a dear friend, he replied: “My dear, you still have it all: the soul of a prophet, the skill of an adept wizard, the regal poise of a goddess and the mesmerizing beauty of the twinkling stars on a moonless night. DY, 06-09-15” His hyperbole was just one of many reasons that I loved him. So sad that the vagaries of age took him from me.

Frog And Human Alike

by Annmarie Throckmorton 2015