Poetry Friday: An Original, sort of

"Usually Toothless"

by Susan Thomsen and the National Audubon Society Field Guide to New England

Adult frogs
and toads (order Anura)
have large
heads and eyes,
and

wide,
usually
toothless

mouths;
they appear neckless,

and most lack
                                            tails.

In the photograph: an American Toad (toothless? toothéd? I'm not sure.)

For an excellent bibliography of  children's books about frogs and toads, including works of poetry, see this post at the blog The Miss Rumphius Effect.

You'll find a roundup of links to more Poetry Friday posts at Anastasia Suen's blog Picture Book of the Day. What is Poetry Friday? Read this article at the Poetry Foundation.

Comments

[Jules]

That's great! Do you usually submit your own poetry and I'm THAT behind on blog-reading, or is this a new thing? I enjoyed that.

[Susan (Chicken Spaghetti)]

Hey, Jules. Nah, I don't usually submit my own poetry---I took the words here directly from the Audubon Society Field Guide and just broke up the lines.

[Karen Edmisten]

Love it.

[TadMack]

Ooh, found poetry! Got to love that! The part that cracks me up is that they"appear neckless." Um... they ARE neckless, aren't they?!

That's such a great picture, too.

[Alkelda the Gleeful]

Of course, "usually toothless" makes me think with uneasiness, "Hmmm, what about the few frogs and toads that do have teeth?"

[Linda]

Great picture. Love the poem too!

[Susan (Chicken Spaghetti)]

Thanks, Karen, TadMack, Alkelda, and Linda. The short guide-book description raises a lot of questions. The kind I like to ponder. Which frogs or toads have teeth? Do they show them? And, yes, TadMack, they are neckless, as far as I can figure out.

Jr. had the day off of school yesterday, and we took a long hike. He found five kinds of amphibians, including the toad, above. He (Junior, not the toad) has gotten used to the idea that they cannot come home with us.

[cloudscome]

I love it! The picture is perfect too.

[jama]

Ribbet! Perfect photo and poem. I know some people who look like that ;)!

[Mary Lee]

Love the picture, the title, and the poem! Glad to hear that Jr. is okay with leaving the critters behind. For your sake and theirs.

[Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves]

frog books are my fave! thanks for linking to the list.

[Suzanne]

Hey Susan,
It was a fun event up here in Milford, glad you stopped by via ethernet to read about it!

Toads are related to royalty I understand, provided you opt to kiss one. . .

[Susan (Chicken Spaghetti)]

Cloudscome, the pic was the inspiration for the poem. He was a nice-sized toad.

Jama, isn't he a hoot?

Mary Lee, after a crab crawled into the den one evening, I had to lay down the law.

VBMKL, Tricia has a great list!

Suzanne, maybe a toad ornament? Thanks for stopping by. Your town seems to have a very cool artists' community.

[NT]

Perhaps Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz can add to their successful F-R-O-G-G-Y series with "Froggy on the Nature Trails" or "Froggy makes a Friend...with a Pink-Shirted Boy with Teeth & Neck."

[Susan (Chicken Spaghetti)]

Now we're talking, NT! Good ideas.