Do it
I breathe
Hardly daring to speak
I poke gently with my stick
Willing for movement
The frog
Looked up at me
Amphibian-ness in his eyes
With a mighty “CHIRRUP!”
He leapt away
Down the course he flew
Quickly outdistancing his competitors
His long legs flying wildly
I erupted in cheers
I felt flushed and on top of the world
Bounding across the finish line
He had left the others behind
Most of them didn’t want to jump
Or had lost interest after a foot or so
All the training since spring had paid off
Since I had captured him as a tadpole
He’s been training like Rocky Balboa
Eating healthy bugs
And leaping up flights of steps
I think I even caught him
Doing a victory dance
At the top of the stairs on day
Next to a little army man on the floor
I picked him up
And held him close
We accepted our Blue ribbon
And the gift certificate for Denny’s
The smile on my face felt permanent
At home that night
I celebrated by sitting in the backyard
By the pond
With a little light
I drank a root beer
As a toast to our victory
I reached into my frog’s box
And took him out
His eyes dark and shiny
I told him goodbye
And set him down
He didn’t even hesitate
Before jumping into the water
I finished my root beer
Sad, but happy too
I knew that there would be more tadpoles next year
And maybe more ribbons of blue
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