Kelley

My Hop-Toad

Leather jade,
A sandpaper tongue and
Bone dry belly
Click and crackle
In the summer's heat.

Dreaming of water,
Cool green water.

The blacktop swelters,
Ribbons of heat
Melt into the day.
He needs tall grass,
A Shamrock haven,
We don't have.

Across the street,
A burning barrier,
The creek runs cold.
His daytime playground.
Along the sandy bank
And mossy rocks,
He dodges kids' feet,
Cannonballs on summer's break.

Dreaming of water,
Cool green water.

When the sun goes down
And lurid heat
Rushes up
Colliding with the black night air,
Cold white sheets and a ceiling fan
Erase the sunburn.

I'm dreaming of water,
Cool green water.

And he crosses,
Takes refuge-
Crouched
Under the lush emerald cilantro leaves,
Camouflaged in a
Canopy of basil.

He floats sometimes
Spread-eagle
Down inside the cool abyss,
The wet darkness
Of a watering can.

Asleep now,
I dream
A parched dream.
Lips chapped,
Eyes squinted
A sand-caked body.
Wishing for my own
Watering can
Abyss.

My Hop-Toad and I,
We're dreaming of water,
Cool green water.