Frog Pond

Science Sonnets

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Two hundred paces will create a loop
On squishy grass around the pond out back,
But every twenty steps you’ll hear the plop
Of Kermit’s cousins jumping in the pool.
And should you pause your walk and squat and gawk
At some dim blot beneath the surface murk
You’ll need keen eyes to spot among the fronds
That leathery little lurker’s fat-faced smirk.

But all night long there’s no escaping from
Full-throated serenades that never stop
Compounding rumble-deep profondo oms 
With honky bonks, burps, whumps, and pop-pop-pops.
This is the sound of advertising sex.
It is the reason God made puffy necks.

—Henry Rathvon