#Tanka 37 — Frogs & Toads

Oodles of water
chucked from grey into gulleys,
it rains frogs and toads.
The homeless warty man croaks,
if only it would rain coins.

Photos:

  • (Top) The Common Frog (Rana temporaria)
  • (Bottom) The Common Toad (Bufo bufo) 

Addendum 1

Identifying Frogs and Toads

  • Both types of amphibians belong to the order Anura.
  • Generally, frogs have long legs and smooth skin covered in mucus, while toads have short thick legs and rough thick skin, often covered in warts. However, there are a few frogs with warts, and toads with smooth, moist, slimy-looking skin.
  • The hind legs of frogs are more powerful than those of toads. Frogs take long high jumps, while toads run or take short hops.
  • Frogs have narrower bodies than toads.
  • Frogs have higher, rounder, more bulging eyes than toads.
  • Frogs lay their eggs in clusters and toads lay their eggs in long strands.
  • Frogs need to live near water to survive but toads do not.
  • Frogs have loads of predators but toads have few predators due to their bitter taste and smell.
  • Frog and toad tadpoles are equally vulnerable to predators.
  • Neither frogs nor toads will give you warts, despite the old wives’ tale to the contrary.

Addendum 2

Facts about Homelessness (according to the UK charity Shelter)

  • 300,000 (1 in 20) people in the UK are officially recorded as homeless or in inadequate accommodation.
  • 281,000 people are in temporary accommodation.
  • 21,000 people are in single homeless hostels and social services accommodation.
  • 4,500 people are sleeping rough.

Author: Sarah Potter Writes

Sarah is a British eccentric who writes offbeat fiction, haiku and tanka poetry. When stuck for words, she sketches or paints instead. She's into nature conservation, sustainability, gardening, dogs, natural health, and reading. Her sociability is something that happens in short bursts with long breathing spaces in between.

14 thoughts on “#Tanka 37 — Frogs & Toads”

  1. First of all… wonderful Tanka
    Second of all… thanks for the frog/toad explanations
    Third of all… those numbers are way too high and should not exist.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Dale 🙂 You know how fascinating I find wildlife, so couldn’t resist sharing those facts. And yes, those numbers are way too high. In fact they are even worse than that, as there are the hidden homeless who don’t have a permanent roof over their heads, but doss on friends’ sofas, moving from one place to another every few days. My son said, cynically, the homeless figures always get worse under a Tory government D:

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      2. Oh, for a fairer world… I could get political here but I won’t, as I’m sure I have no need to spell it out. The evidence is there for all to see, except those wearing blinkers to suit their own agendas.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Bill 🙂 It’s a chilly wind blows across from the Continent today. You wouldn’t want to be my side of The Pond with all the snow that’s predicted. And there was me thinking I’d got off lightly in my southerly corner of the UK. I have a very rosy face this Monday. Hugs and friendship to you, too my dear friend.

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    1. Thank you, Sylvia. I’m glad you love my poetry 🙂 By coincidence, those very statistics re homelessness were quoted in one of our national newspapers the day after I published my post. It was due to some homeless people having slept rough in blizzards and two of them dying during the night D:

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  5. Hello Sarah nice to meet you, although we met earlier once on Andrew’s blog. I love your tanka. I do a lot of poetic forms, but I have a soft spot for senryus/tankas because of my background in Japanese studies.

    Now about your tanka, please accept my sincere admiration for the way you have used natural devices to drive home a sad truth. Although I am from India, I have worked extensively on homelessness in Japan, as my doctoral thesis. “It rains frogs and toads” and “if only it would rain coins” were Iines that stood out for me.

    Glad to be reading you, Sarah.😀

    P.S. He is working on your challenge. 😀

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    Reply

    1. Hi Nandita, that’s hi praise indeed that you admired the construction of my tanka as you have such an insight into this poetic form, along with an insight in Japan. It is not a country that I had associated with homelessness, but it’s logical that it should exist, as I have the impression that people there are either “in” or “out” on the corporate ladder and they are expected to put their job above their family. Also, I believe that there is quite a high suicide rate amongst youngsters due to the pressure to succeed in school. Thus, I assume that there is also a lot of mental illness, which in turn produces a lot of homelessness. I may be completely wrong about all this, so please correct me if I am.

      Re India’s poverty, I recently read a brilliant novel which I think gave a very accurate insight into the issues related to it. If you haven’t read this brilliant novel, you might like to read my review and find out more about it https://sarahpotterwrites.com/2018/02/21/book-review-the-white-tiger-by-aravind-adiga/

      I’m so please to hear that Andrew is working on my challenge 🙂

      I will check out your blog later today or tomorrow. Have to get on with finishing my novel, once I’ve posted my Monday Morning Haiku. Self-discipline. It is so hard sometimes.

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