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.