Toad

by Christian Ward

Eyes swirling with the molten

cores of marbles, how you shimmy

your way into documentaries,

how you commandeer territory

with a latex throat pulsating

like an '80s Howie Mandel trick.

Film strip spawn - a mirror image.

Jealous are the songbirds

in Disney colours, foxes

stealing sunsets in their fur

and badgers hoarding the night.

You are the unlikeliest lucky charm

who makes the world open, turn.