A toad poem for Paul Brookes’ December challenge.

Tactical retreat

Rain and flood tides
fill the river plain,
willows wade in water,
paddle their roots
in overflowing ditches,
the stream’s a torrent,
and in the cowshed,
a toad swims slowly,
stoically along the drain
and under the door.
We watch her rhythmic
breast stroke, pulling
against the flow,
temporary evacuation,
a lesson in coping.