you sit like a tiny blue frog
hidden in the twilight on
a lily pad surrounded by black water

almost impossible to see
but i know you’re there
hiding out, zippy tongue ready

in a moment, you will snatch
away my summer, swallowing
my girls as if they were annoying flies.

i can’t disappear from this encounter,
but only work my way closer, ready
to pry you open, releasing them, in spring.