My Story: Breakthrough Fall 2004

At the Centre

A New Friend

By Robert Gabriel

One summer day I went exploring On the edges of a bog,
I met a frog in a tuxedo
Sitting on a log.

I rubbed my eyes
And looked again
Not believing it was true,
Then he stood, held out his hand
And said how do you do?

I figured I'd gone crazy
I guess that you would too,
If a frog in a tuxedo
Starts to talk to you.

We shook hands
And I sat down
What else could I do?
He said his name is "Ribbit"
And I told him my name too.

I said to Mr. "Ribbit"
That I never knew,
They made froggy tuxedos
Is it rented or brand new?

He said that he just bought it
For a special date,
That is why he's sitting here
Because his date was late.

So we just sat and chatted
Boy he had the gift of gab,
He told me that he lived nearby
He has a Lily pad.

I asked him how the pond was
He said it's nice and cool,
Except it seemed much smaller
Than it was at tadpole school.

Suddenly from on the pond
We heard another croak,
There she was his lady frog
In a velvet cloak.

She looked at him and then at me
Then hopped up on the log,
They looked so cute together
Their eyes were all agog.

Then he introduced us
And I bowed toward the log
I said it really was quite late
And I should leave the bog.

We shook once more and said goodbye
And planned to meet again
'cause in that bog
that summers day
I made a froggy friend.

Robert Gabriel is a client at CAMH. He writes poems for his two-year old daughter Ayla.

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