Marge Piercy

Dream of Toads

That afternoon the dream of the toads
rang through the elms by Little River
and affected the thoughts of men,
though they were not conscious that
they heard it. ________Henry Thoreau

The dream of toads: we rarely
credit what we consider lesser
life with emotions big as ours,
but we are easily distracted,
abstracted. People sit nibbling
before television's flicker watching
ghosts chase balls and each other
while the skunk is out risking grisly
death to cross the highway to mate;
while the fox scales the wire fence
where it knows the shotgun lurks
to taste the sweet blood of a hen.
Birds are greedy little bombs
bursting to give voice to appetite.
I had a cat who died of love.
Dogs trail their masters across con-
tinents. We are far too busy
to be starkly simple in passion.
We will never dream the intense
wet spring lust of the toads


________

are we aware of the myriad ways that nature influences our thoughts, moods, passions? feeling sun on our face while the circadian rhythm syncs silently with the rays. how the moon tugs imperceptibly on our hearts. how sea water rushes in our veins and how stardust is every one of our cells. more importantly, are we living in a manner that reflects our participation in the deeply felt sense driven aspects of our life. I want to remind myself every day to be starkly simple in passion. Our passions, in whatever form they manifest, be it losing oneself in the act of creating a simple silver ring, smelling the herb scented morning air in my garden or sharing stories over the phone with my sister in Houston. To be starkly simple in my passion. which means immersing myself in all manner and forms of love. How i am interconnected to all of life and the divine being that is all and one.