By the Pond For William Stafford

By the Pond For William Stanford.

Frogs in the night talk. Gossiping long. Mingling, their voices like speckles of light. Long have they slept, waiting for heavy rains. The sky seeps into their mouths. Frogs have waited all their lives for this night, cold, damp and wet. They won’t shut up. They won’t sleep again.

They hide during the day pretending to be children. Pretending to be dirt. Pretending to be leaves. Pretending to be invisible. Look, but you won’t find them, for their groans are bigger than they are. Bigger than we are.

(Sound of a cell door closing.) These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.