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The frog maker

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There’s gift-stalls galore outside the wild and hilly

Monteverde Forest. I buy a saffron

amphibian, sculpted in glass, from the guy that crafts them.

“What species is it?” I ask. His smile goes chilly.

“Is Golden Toad. He no more around.”

He knew them as a boy and recounts the thrilling

jackpot glitter of frogs in the fern-leaf frilly

puddles of April that made their spawning grounds.

Extinction struck. Climate’s the culprit, it’s reckoned.

A shriek from a startled bird reverberates shrilly

around the reserve. It stops. Oblivion beckons

a world that’s lost a coin so unmistakeable.

The bubble-wrap wad he packs round the knick-knack seems silly,

a conceit in these times when entire species’ are breakable.

froggolden toadMonteverdeCosta Ricacloud forestclimate changeextinction

◄ END OF HISTORY SALE!

Bigfoot ►

Comments

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Tim Ellis

Thu 10th Dec 2015 10:29

Thanks for your comments Stu and Ray.

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raypool

Tue 8th Dec 2015 22:10

With your chosen agenda Tim you make a heartfelt plea and you have the weight of conviction and this always comes across, well done. Quite sad case in point in this poem.

Ray

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Stu Buck

Tue 8th Dec 2015 17:31

love this tim and it is indeed a sad story. great use of assonance throughout.

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Tim Ellis

Tue 8th Dec 2015 13:10

Another poem from my pamphlet "Speak The Unspeakable" It was first published in "Gringo on the Chickenbus" (Stairwell Books) You can google Golden Toad if you want the full sad story of this unfortunate animal. The poem is more-or-less true: my partner's mum has the glass toad in question, which we bought in Costa Rica some years ago, on her mantelpiece. You can get both books via my website (they'd make a perfect Christmas present for someone!)
http://www.birdbard.co.uk/bookshop.html

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