Two girls, seven and ten, played with a frog
Under the flower boxes in the front yard.
Be kind to the frog, admonished an adult,
Mindful of all the tales of sociopaths
Who got their start by torturing animals, but
Also mindful of the snakes up at the pond
Only too contented to gulp down hapless frogs.
Nature green in shade and claw. Perhaps
It would be time to coax the girls inside
For something tamer, say a board game?
Their feet, shins, and knees painted in dirt,
They gave the frog “exercise” in the dank
Plants under the boxes of cultivated beans
And dark green edible things. Roald Dahl
Was right about the mind of a child. One girl
Dared the other to kiss the helpless frog.
A burst of giggling. Let’s build him a house!
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