Da Toad

[only rob]

The Return of the Toad With the Buddha Spirit



Was it his texture, his solidarity with the soil,
or his gaze?
The calm in those dark orbs,
the very Yoda, Yogi, the Tai Chi
of the way he stretched each leg,
his disregard of me as if
he knew the foundation, the garden
were really his. These beatific warts.

After the daffodils, after the bold iris,
he oozed out to take his place
beside the rose’s gnarled feet,
to meditate.

When a flesh toad lives
between a stone Buddha and a rose,
something blooms
like rain.

[Leanne]

Rob, that last stanza gave me goosebumps, it's a very haiku-like statement and such a wonderful springboard to further contemplation.

The only toads hereabouts are the introduced cane toads, a plague we attack rather viciously with whatever is near at hand (often golf clubs), so my own reaction to finding one in my garden is not a meditative one! However, I can visualise yours easily from your very vivid descriptions not only of its physical appearance but of its relationship with its surrounds and indeed the universe itself. Wonderful stuff!

[Todd]

Hi Rob,

Intriguing, Cool poem! I very much like it. Some very minor suggestions and comments below:

The Return of the Toad With the Buddha Spirit



Was it his texture, his solidarity with the soil,
or his gaze?
The calm in those dark orbs,
the very Yoda, Yogi, the Tai Chi
of the way he stretched each leg,
his disregard of me as if
he knew the foundation, the garden
were really his. These beautied warts.--maybe beatific instead

After the daffodils, after the bold iris,
he oozed out to take his place--absolutely love oozed
beside the rose’s gnarled feet,--great personification
and he silently whispered--I don't think you need he
the secrets of circles.--again love this. It carries a real sense of mysticism, reincarnation, and transmigration...a lot in a small line...so nice

When a flesh toad lives
between a stone Buddha and a rose,
something blooms like
rain.--this entire section has some gorgeous writing. It could stand without change. Alternately though, you could change the break up on the last two lines:

something blooms
like rain

I realize that releases a bit of tension that breaking on like would give you, but the enjambment is interesting breaking from bloom. Not sure which I like better, and anyway it's just a thought

Fantastic idea for a poem!

Best,

Todd

[marc]

Late good afternoon Rob . . . love the toad poem . . . just wanted to reconnect with you . . .

Marc

[billy]

The Return of the Toad With the Buddha Spirit



Was it his texture, his solidarity with the soil,
or his gaze?
The calm in those dark orbs,
the very Yoda, Yogi, the Tai Chi
of the way he stretched each leg,
his disregard of me as if
he knew the foundation, the garden
were really his. These beautied warts.

After the daffodils, after the bold iris,
he oozed out to take his place
beside the rose’s gnarled feet,
and he silently whispered
the secrets of circles.

When a flesh toad lives
between a stone Buddha and a rose,
something blooms like
rain.

it's one of those wow moments for me
there was one nit but nothing concrete, the following;

and he silently whispered
the secrets of circles.

altered the whole poem for me from an observational one to something lesser. that said it didn't alter it enough for me not to enjoy it with some great satisfaction.

After the daffodils, after the bold iris,
he oozed out to take his place
beside the rose’s gnarled feet,

what a fantastic image, one of the best I've seen in a long time. the last verse i found to be inspirational, i can see everyone running out to do a "da Toad" poem...they'll be really struggling to do one as well as this.
L4, and 5, are while serene are comedic. love them to bits.

it's nice to have a wow moment with a poem

thanks.

[only rob]

Late good afternoon Rob . . . love the toad poem . . . just wanted to reconnect with you . . .

Marc

GREAT to see you here, bro...

---

Hi Rob,

Intriguing, Cool poem! I very much like it. Some very minor suggestions and comments below:

The Return of the Toad With the Buddha Spirit



Was it his texture, his solidarity with the soil,
or his gaze?
The calm in those dark orbs,
the very Yoda, Yogi, the Tai Chi
of the way he stretched each leg,
his disregard of me as if
he knew the foundation, the garden
were really his. These beautied warts.--maybe beatific instead

After the daffodils, after the bold iris,
he oozed out to take his place--absolutely love oozed
beside the rose’s gnarled feet,--great personification
and he silently whispered--I don't think you need he
the secrets of circles.--again love this. It carry's a real sense of mysticism, reincarnation, and transmigration...a lot in a small line...so nice

When a flesh toad lives
between a stone Buddha and a rose,
something blooms like
rain.--this entire section has some gorgeous writing. It could stand without change. Alternately though, you could change the break up on the last two lines:

something blooms
like rain

I realize that releases a bit of tension that breaking on like would give you, but the enjambment is interesting breaking from bloom. Not sure which I like better, and anyway it's just a thought

Fantastic idea for a poem!

Best,

Todd

Thanks, Todd, and Billy as well. You both hit on my, erm, sniggles. I'm going to fool with it a bit.

Rob

---

The Return of the Toad With the Buddha Spirit



Was it his texture, his solidarity with the soil,
or his gaze?
The calm in those dark orbs,
the very Yoda, Yogi, the Tai Chi
of the way he stretched each leg,
his disregard of me as if
he knew the foundation, the garden
were really his. These beatific warts.

After the daffodils, after the bold iris,
he oozed out to take his place
beside the rose’s gnarled feet,
to meditate on the nature
of circles.

When a flesh toad lives
between a stone Buddha and a rose,
something blooms
like rain.

[Ca ne fait rien]

I keep reading this, and I really can't think of anything to say other than that even as an observational poem, I actually felt like I was in the skin of the toad. How you do dat , den?

[Patrick Traveler]

A beautiful piece of work. I liked the changes you made except for "on the nature/of circles." I preferred the abrupt ending of that staza in your second version. (BTW that was my favorite stanza, not the last one.)

I felt the poem was very tactual (and you get texture in the very first line)--the soil, the stretch of legs, beatific warts, stone Buddha and the rain. You did that very well.