the frog

I don't know much
about love, but I'd
like to believe that
its extent can be reached
and felt by every animal, every
thing.

I found a frog
in my backyard today.
His left hind leg was mangled,
probably from a neighborhood stray.
The worst thing is, though, that they
left him, as if it were only for play.

I put him in a plastic container
with rainwater and a bit of mud, and
I got him a small piece of bark to hold
up his mug. I sat there with my notebook,
staring at him and hoping that his strangled
breaths would cease. I stroked his lower back
in an effort to reassure, maybe even please.

He stopped breathing, though,
and after twenty minutes of stillness,
I knew that he'd let go.

I had an impromptu ceremony
and set him back in the lake
for I imagined it was his favorite place.
I tied two dandelions and a leaf together
and set it off with him, an earthy, understanding
bouquet.

I hope
he felt
loved, and
I hope that his
skeleton will still
find time to play.