The Cheering Section

April 8, 2015
by Michael
comments 30
Poetry

Three frogs
were sitting together
under a newspaper
watching the typhoon
of unnecessary human ordeals
roll across the sky
from one side to the other
like an entire model year of locomotives
wrestling for the glory.

It was Fantastic.
Thunderous.
Unpredictable.
Insane.

And I was in that sky–
whirling, pounding, placating,
admonishing, wounding,
encouraging, listening,
stinging, consoling, worrying,
wishing, dashing, leaping.
Suffering, basically,
all the madness
of that turbulent fury.

What I eventually noticed,
in a glimpse through a piston-laden
cloud of steam and blown whistles,
was that despite their genetically righteous
pre-existing conditions,
these particular frogs
were outfitted
with kazoo-mounted party blowers
that leapt into the air
like coiled tongues
when exercised, and that
infrequently they blew upon them
with instinctual amphibian abandon,
as if cheering us on.

We, the deranged.
We, the sky bounders.

We, the certain.

30 Comments

  7. PreciousRhymes says

    Witty, comical, veracious and delightfully graphic Michael! We the deranged swinging through unnecessary human ordeals do make an interesting circus to watch oftentimes! Thanks for a smiles and wisdom packed piece dear Michael.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Michael says

      Thanks for the note, PR. We are indeed engaged in some deranged acts of wrestling from time to time. And we carry these three frogs around with us in our shirt pockets. I am thinking more and more it’s not about the devils vs the angels, but the frogs vs the locomotives… 🙂

      Much Love
      Michael

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  8. megdekorne says

    Michael … So funny , ” what I eventually noticed ” stood out and then I realized I too was part of ” the cheering section ” …. and I am certainly applauding loud your brilliant creativity …hugs xxxmeg

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Michael says

      Thanks, Meg. This week was an all out blitz, or so it felt. This was some much needed cathartic-comedic relief for yours truly. I’m glad other people found a bit of good cheer in there as well!

      Love
      Michael

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  9. marga t. says

    What a week for trains and frogs – I think the epiphanies here are actually another business idea brewing in your defrosting Maine brain…what about a line of clothing for the train riders that has special pockets sewn in for the frogs?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Michael says

      Ooohhh…! I love it! Hafiz will help us set up a wetlands facility for wild-crafting fun-loving frogs expert in the arts of chagrin and understatement. They will ride around in the sewn pockets, and when things get serious, blow on the kazoos. If you get the top of the line package, you can get an entire cheering section that you can set on the conference table, a bookshelf, a desk or what have you…

      Michael

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      • marga t. says

        I volunteer for the test model 🙂 Just the very idea of kazoo blowing frogs is enough to loosen and release any beginnings of a furrowed brow in me! grinning, I am now!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  10. Sue Dreamwalker says

    Love the imagery you have given us here Michael, I will go away now thinking of these little frogs blowing on their party whistles bounding around holding a newspaper over their heads when a storm brews 🙂 And not giving a Monkey’s! lol or should that be not giving a toad! 🙂
    Have a storm-free weekend Michael with Sunny skies and if it should rain, may it produce only Rainbows.. x 🙂
    Thank you for bringing a smile ..
    Sue

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Michael says

      Thank you, Sue! It has actually been a delightful weekend on the weather front so far, though slightly windy. Yesterday we shoveled residual snow from the flower beds in front of the house out into the driveway to clear a path for spring… 🙂

      Yes, we still have snow on the ground…! Almost gone. Today may be the clincher as we are expected to hit 65F!

      Peace
      Michael

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      Reply

  11. Pingback: Grinding Down | Embracing Forever

  13. lorriebowden says

    I love this Michael! You paint a very vivid picture of things I feel in my life…it’s like you have a secret window to the soul and are able to articulate the deep thoughts…the mind’s meanderings…with absolute clarity!! It is astounding really. I’m so happy to have found you. You make me take my own thoughts to another level. Have a super weekend my friend ♡

    Like

    Reply
    • Michael says

      Hi Lorrie, thank you so much for sharing your reaction here. It is intriguingly close to what another friend of mine once shared with me after reading some of my poems, which was that they “seemed to be expressing the inexpressible of the inner life.” It is an interesting reaction, because when I write I inevitably find myself caught up in the feelings of the moment and how they swirl about and coalesce into various conclusions, then break apart once again into a cloud of butterflies and take flight, and I find the images the only way to express it in words… It is as if the truth cannot be touched or named or portrayed directly, but through hints and indirect glances, we fill with the sensation of its astounding majesty…

      You have a super weekend as well!
      Much Love
      Michael

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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