I once knew a girl
who was the focus of
a rain of frogs
She was walking in a park
on a hot cloudless day
She was chewing her way through
a pack of bubble gum
and thinking of going swimming
And she was surrounded by frogs
Some alive and crying with fear
some dead and broken
She saw one bounce on the grass
She looked up
at a thousand doomed, dully-surprised frogs
and she ran away screaming
A picnicking family told her
the downpour followed her as she ran
A year later
for 2 days
her TV broadcast nothing
but shows from 1971
and when she was little
her home was haunted by poltergeists
People follow her
and tell her she's special
They call her magic
and want to touch her
They speak of her in hushed voices
their eyes moist with love
for the wonder they see in her
for the promise of a life freed from the commonplace
But she hates them
she calls them names
she grows angry at the word "magic"
she jumps at coincidences, startled
she won't watch TV
and she doesn't like to be outdoors anymore