The Pond

The Pond
Copyright - 02/12/98

A frog springs from the lily pad
A steady breeze blows from the north
The frog leaps again making tiny waves
As they sweetly caresses the white lilies
A frog eyes a fly closely
Perceiving its every stuttered move
A fly buzzes nonchalantly into a frog's view
The frog slaps the fly with its leathery tongue
A fly is ingested
A fly knows no more.

A frog bounces to a weather-beaten rock
A toad appears at the pond's far end
The pond ripples signifying the toad's presence
The frog feels un-alone and sanctified
A toad smiles and releases a deep sigh
Nerves wreck the frog's very fiber
As the toad moves gracefully forward
The frog looks left then right
A frog meets demise quickly
A toad keeps score.

A toad prides himself on his cunning ability
A fish swims silently beneath
The toad leaps happily back and forth
The fish awaits patiently with bated breath
A toad senses things amiss in his great pond
A toad sweats and fastidiously peers about unsure
The fish swirls to the pond's surface
The toad becomes uneasy and jittery
In one fatal bite the fish takes the toad
A toad knows no more.

A fish relaxes as cool water flows over its gills
Swimming without care, he is now king
A man sits on a log skipping stones into the pond
The fish pays no attention
A man drops a fishing line into the quaint little pond
And even though the fish is sated
The fish is tempted by his fresh new find
The fish paddles groggily in obvious debate
A fish takes the bait
Man evens the score.

A man sits on the edge of the famed pond
Beaming about his new catch of the day
The man sits unafraid and un-alert
The man realizes not his fate
A lion surveys the scene from a close distance
A lion licks his lips watching
The man cooks his own kill
A lion begins his quiet climb
The lion attacks, the man feels no pain
A man knows no more.

A lion suns himself on a large rock at the end of the pond
A poisonous snake drifts silently through the water
The lion licks himself satisfied
The poisonous snake slithers in closer
A lion closes his eyes for a long awaited nap
A lion lightly dozes in the sunlight
The snake moves to the same rock sharing the sun
A lion turns his head looking for the intruder
The snake lashes out his deadly poison
A poisonous snake settles the score.

A poisonous snake's tongue whips back and forth
The lion has stopped twitching for some time
A poisonous snake coils beside the lion
A man walks evenly through the underbrush
The snake bides his time
The man approaches carefully seeing the snake
The poisonous snake moves slightly for a better sunspot
A man wields his hunting knife in the air
A snake strikes too late
Man betters the score.