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This Poem was Submitted By: Erzahl Leo M. Espino On Date: 2005-05-15 04:22:16 . . . Click Here To Mail this Poem to a Friend!

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Summoned By A Kiss

It is in that lost moment that I realized That I belong to where the lilies grow Where flies and mosquitoes are delicacies Along the murky aroma of the pond As nightfall comes and conquers my world I look upon the staring eye of the sky As I leap from lily pad to another lily pad I hope to find the magic lips of my princess I'm a frog croaking back again Letting my sonata be heard once more

Additional Notes:
- I miss TPL a lot! - Sorry guys for keeping in silence for two months...just been busy with work. :) - Thanks Marilyn! Miss you all! :)

This Poem was Critiqued By: Thomas H. Smihula On Date: 2005-06-06 08:09:45
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.87805
Erzahl, How I enjoy the expression within this piece. Your Haika is suburb and you have shown me the other side within this completely different format. It is extremely well presented, excellent use of words actually one of my favorites for this month. Have only one question and that is how can one find and realize a lost moment if it hasn’t been lived? Maybe that is the puzzle presented. Here are my favorite parts: Murky aroma of the pond Nightfall comes and conquers my world Magic lips of my princess Letting my sonata be heard. Thanks for sharing this side of you. Thomas

This Poem was Critiqued By: Lora Silvey On Date: 2005-06-03 21:29:16
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.83333
Good imagery. In your first line I was not sure if your word "lost" was to be "last or lost" however both work for me. I like the way you lead the reader up to the point of your being and what you are waiting for. This is uplifting and refreshing to me.

This Poem was Critiqued By: Nancy Ann Hemsworth On Date: 2005-06-03 07:28:05
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.80000
what a lovely way to "croak back in"...enjoyed this piece so much the metaphor of the frog works like magic and set a lovely and fairytalish atmosphere to this little piece. Really enjoyed this. Nancy

This Poem was Critiqued By: Joanne M Uppendahl On Date: 2005-05-20 10:30:22
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 10.00000
Erzahl~~! What a great delight to find that you have come back, and not only that, with a FROG poem!! I feel as though you wrote it just for me (Frog or Bird Lady, I can't decide)! ;) It is positively glowing with your signature voice -- incredible appreciation for beauty, nature, and plenty of humor. I love it to pieces. But before I get carried away, I need to slow down a bit and savor more. If you could see my fingers flying across the keyboard, you'd know how very happy this poem makes me. OK, slowing down to observe the gems within this piece: First, the title: "Summoned By A Kiss" -- now what romantic like me is not going to leap at this (pun intended)? :) First Stanza: I really appreciated the underlying melancholy in the words "lost moment" in L1. I was pondering along, wondering what was making Erzahl a bit morose, when I fell into L3 and realized -- my alter ego is speaking! Nothing yummier than flies and mosquitoes for certain lovable characters. And you observed perfectly the exquisite perfume of "the murky aroma of the pond." My pond gets that way in late summer, and truthfully, I really enjoy it. Don't worry about me -- I am funny about stuff like that. Very sentimental and I don't care who knows it! ;) As nightfall comes and conquers my world I look upon the staring eye of the sky As I leap from lily pad to another lily pad I hope to find the magic lips of my princess Again in L1 above, a touch of melancholy. And then in L2, your sublime descriptor of the moon, as "the staring eye of the sky" -- wonderful! And all of your artful articulation, alliteration and assonance -- that almost goes without saying, but not without my appreciation. L4 is really my favorite one, despite how much I love all of the other ones. The Grimms' story of the frog king is my favorite. Your poem brings these lines to mind: "Open the door, my princess dear, Open the door to thy true love here! And mind the words that thou and I said By the fountain cool in the greenwood shade." It is so wonderful to read your poem from the frog's point of view. You bring a lot of magic to this work -- no surprise -- and delight for me. I have a 'thing' about frogs and most who know me know about it. I wear a frog pin (though I don't wear brooches) on whatever jacket I happen to have on at the moment. I think of him as my Prince. It would be fun to collect our frog, bird and insect poems from TPL and make a kind of collaborative chapbook. I am dreaming on, for who has time for projects such as this? But it would be fun and I think your title could be the title of the chapbook, and this poem the first one in the collection. Back to the poem: I'm a frog croaking back again Letting my sonata be heard once more Little Frog, we have missed your 'croaking' and I, for one, am delighted that you are "letting your sonata be heard once more." And may you find the "magic lips" of your princess, whoever she may be. Again, thank you for this treat! I hope you will send us more. We've missed you! Best always, Joanne

This Poem was Critiqued By: Thomas Edward Wright On Date: 2005-05-17 08:59:23
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 10.00000
ee- good to see you back in the saddle again. here, where the lilies gallop through time. te

This Poem was Critiqued By: Claire H. Currier On Date: 2005-05-17 01:48:00
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.90909
Welcome back poet....we missed you too........I am pleased that it was not health issues that kept you away.... I love the thought of frogs, lillie pads, the sounds made at night for here in Tully we have across from the house a pond, beaver made of course, and the frogs have been busy every night since Spring returned to New England.......I am certain that you will if you have not already found those 'special' lips to be kissed.......a delightful poem. good structure, word flow which allows for all kinds of images to even finding Kermit the frog among your lillie pads......thanks for posting, sharing with us yet another form of your poetic art. God Bless, Claire

This Poem was Critiqued By: arnie s WACHMAN On Date: 2005-05-15 18:49:54
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.07692
Well, I'm glad you're still croaking. Glad you weren't caught up in some revolution or something. So who is the frog princess that summoned you? C'mon, tell all. Enquiring minds want to know! P.S.: Just a small correction if you're going to keep this one. First verse second line - take out "to". That's all, and thanks for letting us know. Now, write more of your wonderful haiku's! Peace, and out!

This Poem was Critiqued By: marilyn terwilleger On Date: 2005-05-15 15:16:10
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.77778
Hi Erzahl, You have been so very missed and I am glad you have found the time to come back to us. This is a different poetic side of you and it is very pleasing. You have taken this frog, and his quest for his princess, and given him human life and emotions...perhaps you inserted some of yourself into the words. ...'it is in that lost moment (that) I realized (that) I belong to where the lilies grow'...perhaps our frog attempted a human side but then decided it is better to be a frog after all...much less stress and anguish....'where flies and mosquitoes are delicacies..along the murky aroma of the pond' wonderful image of a murky pond...can almost hear our frog croaking in contenment...plenty of food, wonderful smells and the promise of finding a lovely princess...a kiss...then who knows what wonders may take place! ...'as nightfall comes and conquers my world I look upon the staring eye of the sky (supberb...staring eye of the sky!!) original, dscriptive. I like the use of 'eye' being one with no reference to a gazillion stars as one would suspect....well done!...'as I leap from a lily pad to another lily pad I hope to find the magic lips of my princess'...our frog now has a palpatating heart and an overwhelming desire to find his love...maybe becoming a prince is not all that bad! 'I'm a frog croaking back again letting my sonata be heard once more.' Well I love this poem and you have given this frog a personality and at the same time have written a terse but lovely poem. I think this frog should have more written about him. I don't know if you read the poems I wrote titled 'I am Fred' but after the first one I could not stop...and maybe you shouldn't either. Well done...don't stop writing as it is a very important part of yourself. Peace....Marilyn

This Poem was Critiqued By: Dellena Rovito On Date: 2005-05-15 13:59:15
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.84615
Ok Erzahl, You have been dearly missed. I like this. It's fairy tale like. I'll kiss a frog any day. I've kissed a crocadile and nothing happened/oh wait I did turn into a croc.[to my surprise] LoL......Having fun. Upon reading this, I thought.............what if, you didn't tell us that you were a FROG. Eliminate that and we're left to wonder and reread to be sure. Just add some mystery to it. It really says what you are all ready know. No need to 'nail' it down. Also if you had to, you could use, amphibian, or any of these names below ; for a name and have us wondering Any of numerous tailless, aquatic, semiaquatic, or terrestrial amphibians of the order Anura and especially of the family Ranidae, characteristically having a smooth moist skin, webbed feet, and long hind legs adapted for leaping. I'm tickled your trying new stuff...not bad at all. I'm enjoying it! I'm leaping off to find some grub. Croak Croak Good job, more....... Dellena

This Poem was Critiqued By: Duane J Jackson On Date: 2005-05-15 05:39:50
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.85714
Hi Erzahl, The Frog Prince has always been one of the greater legends in fairytale writing as it appeals to all those who have felt inferior or hopeless in matters of love. You too have drawn inspiration from this great faiytale character and have given him a place in poetry by putting yourself in his position as you too pursue the love of your dreams. Like that story, you too leave your readers with a sense of hope in three free-form verses which have their share of vivid imagery. The frog you depict here has a sense of patience and contentment which probably arises out of the fact that he too his confident that he will find the kiss of his long lost princess ('flies and mosquitos are delicacies', 'hope to find the magic lips of my princess') As a suggestion, you could refer to the eye of the sky as 'eyes'- a reference to the many stars that shine in it. The sentiment you express here is very strong. Yes, it is so easy to miss TPL. I was away for about two years and returned to full fleged activity a couple of months ago. Hope to hear more from you more often. Take Care, Duane.

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