The Toad

A poem I wrote 4 or 5 years ago

As I was walking down our road,
I saw this funny looking toad.
He was extraordinary as I did say.
He looked unreal in an amazing way.

He had four wings upon his back.
Two were orange and two were black.
When I got near him, I had to stop,
wondering if he would fly or hop.

I tried to scare him, so I yelled, "Boo!"
He hopped straight up and then he flew!
He didn’t fly fast, he was kind of slow.
I began to follow to see where he would go.

He flew down the middle of an old muddy trail.
He was headed for water I knew without fail.
He started to fly a tad bit fast.
I sped up, hoping I’d last.

I heard the water, it was running.
Then this toad got very cunning.
Down he glided to a lily pad.
This did make me kind of mad.

I needed to know more about this creature.
I was still amazed at his four winged feature.
I didn’t want the toad to get away,
so I was going to jump in, come what may.

The toad was floating away fast downstream.
What I saw when I jumped made me scream.
A whirlpool appeared out of thin air!
It was pulling me in, which gave me a scare.

I started to pray, hoping not  to drown,
but I was sinking, being sucked down!
I held my breath and closed my eyes,
hoping that I was dreaming these lies.

Unfortunately for me, this was all true.
But, I know what you’re thinking, really, I do.
When I stopped sinking and hit the ground,
I looked everywhere, I looked all around.

Above me still spinning, was the swirling vortex,
but, running straight at me was a giant T-Rex!
She had long, razor sharp, knife-like fangs.
All I could do was feel sharp pangs.

I was going to die, this much I knew.
If you were right here, what would you do?
As I closed my eyes just waiting to die,
a funny thing happened, T-Rex ran right by!

As she ran past she screamed a big roar!
I opened my eyes and saw another dinosaur!
That’s what T-rex wanted, she never saw me.
It was the other dino she was after you see.

It was a Torosaurus, which is a herbivore.
Where there is one, there is usually more.
Torosaurus tried to run, but it was too late.
He then had to suffer a very ill fate.


T-Rex bit him right behind his frill,
ripping meat from his neck, going in for the kill.
Then the ground started shaking, it did yes indeed.
What came next was a herbivore stampede!

It was the Torosaurus herd, they were charging T-Rex!
These dinos acted as one, they were very complex.
When they got T-Rex off the first one’s frill,
they knocked her down and went in for the kill!

T-Rex was thrashing, screaming and roaring.
The herd kept charging, thrusting and goring.
It was finally over, T-Rex was dead.
By now I’d thought I’d lost my head.

The injured Torosaurus also did die.
The herd left slowly, as though knowing why.
I followed the herd down a beaten path,
keeping my distance, not wanting their wrath.

I got to a clearing and what did I see?
That four winged toad, and he was staring at me!
He just sat there, keeping very still.
I tried to remain calm, staying tranquil.

I had an idea, so I jumped lickety-split!
I grabbed that toad from where he did sit!
The toad hopped up, taking me too.
Then he flapped his wings and away we flew.

We flew past the Torosaur, and then the T-Rex,
we flew straight up, through the swirling vortex.
We flew back over the muddy trail.
We were headed for the road, I knew without fail.

When we had stopped and finally landed,
I just laughed and the toad I unhanded.
As I walked away, I said to the toad,
"Thanks for the daydream I had on our road."
 

Author's Note

This is one of the 1st poems I ever wrote, so I know the flow is off or seems forced in parts. I leave this the way it is so I can see where I started and compare it to where I am going with my writing.

Reviews

[James Horsley]

This is certainly entertaining. As you've stated, the flow is just a touch forced at times. However, we need this sort of innocence and light heartedness in poetry. Unfortunately, poets (myself included) tend sometimes to become to involved in our work, and take themselves too seriously. This piece is a refreshing antidote to that particular poison.