There’s fighting in the duck pond,
the frogs have gone to war!
They’re punching toads and kicking newts,
they’re out to settle an old score.
“These lilly pads are ours! ”
Screams a gigantic froggy brute.
Then he hops into the reed bed,
then starts beating up a newt.
“Stop this, it is madness! ”
Shout the old grey geese.
But the frogs just ignore them,
they’re waging war, not peace.
They’re hopping past the bulrush,
they have just slapped mother swan.
Their battle cry is “Ribbit! ”
And still they’re marching on!
“Enough! ” Shouts the heron,
“This really has to stop! ”
He bares his beak, his frog eating beak,
then not one frog dares hop.
The heron has them fleeing,
the frogs hop off in retreat.
They’re apologising frantically,
knowing they’re what heron likes to eat!
Being a Grand ma enjoyed reading this children's poem. Came to know of it through Bri's showcase. Thanks for sharing.
i shall now place this into my/our August 2017 showcase on my site. i could not resist using it when i saw it in MyPoemList! Thanks. bri :)
hi, i accidentally came upon this show-stopping poem while looking for another by someone else. the story is fantastic (well, really good at least!) , the rhyming is well-done and very welcome, and the title is captivating. to MyPoemList it goes. favorite lines: The heron has them fleeing, the frogs hop off in retreat. They’re apologising frantically, knowing they’re what heron likes to eat! too bad it took a big heron to (temporarily) stop the war. where is God when one needs Her? ? bri :) ok, i'm rereading. an old score? so, did the newts and toads do something 'bad' they SHOULD be PUNISHED FOR? ? ? that could make a world of difference! don't frogs and people have to make ground rules? Territory MUST BE PROTECTED!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
once again i'm borrowing this to grace my (April 2019) showcase of poems by P H poets, this time poets of the British Isles. any questions, please ask. Thanks. bri :) this shows that " might aka power" sometimes DOES make " right aka correctness/morality" , at least in the minds of many of the pond community.