WHIMSY
the madrigal, volume iii
I taught the toad about evolution, perhaps
by rick hollon
the toad offered me her umbrella
and I repaid her, I thought
by thumbing through Wikipedia
and educating her on the
distinctions of Bufonidae
a firebelly erudtion, then
an enlightenment of spadefoots
screenshot an annotated diagram
of cladistic scaffolding—her own
IKEA catalog of adaptations
but the rain passed, and left
jewels with us on the moss
the toad folded away her umbrella
and only the creek asked for more
Rick Hollon (they/them or fey/fem) is a nonbinary, intersex, bi/queer author, editor, and parent from the American Midwest. Feir work has appeared or is forthcoming in perhappened, Whale Road Review, Pareidolia Literary, Pastel Pastoral, and other small-press publications. Find them on Twitter at SailorTheia.