Frog Pty Ltd

 

In the evening 

I carry frogs out of the house.

I strive 

to put distance between them 

and the front door,

releasing them in the furthest flower beds.

The process is repeated 

every  night.

Or is it

every other night?

I lose track

of time,

doing it so regularly.

I often wonder

if it’s the same one

constantly returning.

You get to know

the expression 

on a face,

the look

in the eyes.

M has suggested

we mark it

with Tippex

to test the theory.

But I’ve heard

from friends and neighbours 

having similar experiences.

One even

dropped their frog

about 2 km away

from the house,

on his way

into town.

It got me thinking.

Are we all 

putting the same frog 

out every other night?

The roaming one,

circulating in the neighbourhood,

returning to 

carefully selected homes?

Recently, though,

in the space 

of 15 minutes,

I had to carry

two out,

with M following 

with a third.

An adjustment 

of my theory 

is therefore required.

I suspect

the  involvement 

of stunt doubles. 

Stand-ins.

Even for our 

special, highly mobile, picky frog,

this has become

too much 

to remain 

a one-frog enterprise.

Heroes tumble. 

Personal attention 

is becoming 

a rarity.

We each

have to find ways,

working through 

our disappointments,

don’t we?

*

The African common toad or guttural toad (Sclerophrys gutturalis) is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Somalia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. (Wikipedia)

In Taita Hills, Wundanyi, Kenya, the community frequently come across the guttural toad and this explains it’s Kitaita name ‘Kiwandu’, which means ‘the people’s frog’. 

Afrikaans name: Gorrelskurwepadda

(https://www.sanbi.org/animal-of-the-week/guttural-toad/)

George