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| The Girl with the Frog Umbrella © Daniel Mackie Source of Inspiration for this Poem |
Sunny day outside.
She colors sitting on stairs,
gray crayon hides sun.
Her father left with suitcase;
mother cries bedroom to clouds.
Sad girl looks at sky;
tears leak sadness down her cheeks.
Sorrow calls the storm;
thunder shakes and rumbles house;
sorrow slides down silver walls.
Rain comes, splats music;
willows filter pain by drops.
Freshness clears her eyes
dancing blossoms entreat her;
she answers by waving back.
Wearing blue raincoat,
chrysanthemum galoshes,
and green umbrella,
she hastens to greet the rain--
splashing through mirrored puddles.
The park sings water.
ringing leaves and blossoms fall
on her umbrella.
By the pond she sees some boys;
she can't determine their play.
Approaching the pond,
light and rain fall green as grass.
Waters shimmer waves;
the boys have shiny black sticks
to attack a large green frog.
"Stop! Don't hurt the frog!"
The boys turn to look at her,
"We can cook his legs."
"No!" she cried "you can't hurt him
See him, he's a king of frogs!"
At this, the frog leaped
onto the back of a swan
gliding out of reach.
The boys screamed mean empty names.
She ran away. They chased her.
Across the bridge, she fled,
where a family waited
for the rain to end.
The boys reached the bridge, then turned;
the swan sailed under and turned right.
The girl watched its course
then sprinted back to meet it.
The black swan halted.
It ambled up the bank; then
the frog jumped onto her boot.
"Pick me up," he said
"Put me on your umbrella."
She obliged the frog
who transformed the umbrella!
Its colors began to change.
Fields of green filled
with sky, clouds. Flowers, reeds,
surrounded her head;
a year of seasons circled--
the frog became one with it.
She started walking.
The frog umbrella asked her,
"Tell me your wish, friend?"
"My wish is for your safety,
and my dad comes home again."
"I am safe, my friend,
you have given me the world.
Karma gives back too;
when you drop this umbrella,
you'll find your reward at home."
The umbrella turned
into a lake on that spot.
Once a vacant lot,
now it burst with green frogs' croaks,
vibrant calls from lotus land.
"Goodbye frog," she called.
She turned her eyes toward home.
She knew long before
she began to run, faster --
her dad was waiting for her.
Inspired by the beautiful watercolor illustration by Daniel Mackie
which can be found here:
http://thecreativefinder.com/portfolio-image.php?username=danielmackie&id=4077&filename=frog-umbrella.jpg&title=Watercolour%20illustration,%20The%20girl%20with%20the%20frog%20umbrella.
A Tale of Friendship told in a Tanka Series
© Gay Reiser Cannon * 4.20.2012 * All Rights Reserved
