He had eyes green as lily pads,

And a heart, large as the pond outside his grandad’s house

Where we splashed and squealed as children.

And my heart quickened in time with the passing of days.

And I watched in wonder as I grew older,

Those green eyes.

 

Like stones taking shape with the lapping of the pond,

So did my feelings grow.

As I saw strong strokes glide across water

And laughter bubble from postured lips.

Watching in wonder as we grew older,

Those green eyes.

 

But eyes dulled as seasons changed

And bodies grew weak as the whispering wind.

Toes grew webbed and skin turned slick

Without a rhyme or reason to be found.

Chuckles morphed into rippled ribbets

And found in the place of my friend, a frog the brightest green of all.

 

The days passed with no sign of change

As our hearts drained of hope.

It seemed no matted how hard I tried,

I couldn’t pull him from the churning tides.

Arms reaching for a hand to hold while breaths turned shallow

And a sallow color clouded, my friend’s lovely eyes.

 

All stayed the same, broken and lost

Until a fair debutant did stumble

Upon our pond, so small and in need of a change.

Missing her ball, searching through all, she offered her hand in exchange.

And in his face I saw a glimmer take shape,

Eyes greening while my heart was breaking.

 

Ball returned, but she fled with feet flying across the grass.

His eyes turned brighter with determination,

Lighting up the water while my heart turned to tar.

He followed swiftly, for a promise was a promise,

Standing on her sun dried, bone painted porch, her daddy took one look

And made her see to her word instead.  

 

And so that summer, that missus tried to entertain my friend

With minimal effort and eyes squinting harshly,

I tried to warn him thoroughly that the girl was just no good,

But high spirits had taken over his heart and his eyes

Even as mine could see nothing true

Only an ending as bad as the last summer storm.  

 

Harsher words were spoken,

With shudders at the slightest brush,

And one day on a tumbleweed path our princess did intend

To squash the fire in his eyes and break his heart in two.

She yelled and screamed and caused a scene but when she raised a hand

I stepped in front of my friend and ended things instead.

 

We took the long, winding path back to our place,

The pond looked evergreen, as did his eyes.

And I bore into him with mine, trying to convey a lifetime in a look

As I took his hand in mine.

And the crickets chirped and sound began to swell.

And he leaned on in.

 

Like springtime blossoms and freshwater algae,

All I could see for miles: green.

The water churned and I tilted my head and: green.

He smiled against me and: green.

Like a song of new beginnings and sweet summertime youth:

Green.

 

I stepped back so overwhelmed with surprise,

But the pleasant kind that fills your heart with a happy heat,

And he smiled with his pallor amiss and his face aglow, a human once again.

My lover looked fresh as a daisy and sweet as the sweetest peach;

The pallor of previous times lost in the wash.

And I wept with joy and eyed my favorite color of all.