Stone Frog

From Still Life, Three Worlds by Dai Pan (潘岱). Poem 17.

Under the cherry blossoms,
Two stone frogs,
Some say they're golden toads.
I insist on calling them green frogs,
Simply because they are green in color.

They have been lying idle for long, tormented by children.
I hear the sorrowful sobbing in the wind,
Tears silently flowing in my heart,
Happiness unknowingly crushed,
Can tears flow from your eyes?

I wish the earth would gradually move away,
because of loneliness.
Wanting to be loved, not wanting goodbyes,
Until they only have silence.

The meaning of travel lies in the journey itself,
So I walked out the door,
Like many people I've seen,
Following the patterns in books, seeking dreams.
Until my tears stopped the smile,

The feeling of stopping comes from stopping,
Until the next heartbeat, letting life begin.

Cite as: Dai Pan, "Stone Frog," Three Worlds, Still Life, poem 17, 2025. https://daipan.ink/still-life/stone-frog

Still Life 17

Stone Frog

Under the cherry blossoms,
Two stone frogs,
Some say they're golden toads.
I insist on calling them green frogs,
Simply because they are green in color.

They have been lying idle for long, // tormented by children.
I hear the sorrowful sobbing // in the wind,
Tears silently flowing in my heart,
Happiness unknowingly crushed,
Can tears flow from your eyes?

I wish the earth // would gradually move away,
because of loneliness.
Wanting to be loved, // not wanting goodbyes,
Until they only have silence.

The meaning of travel lies // in the journey itself,
So I walked out the door,
Like many people I've seen,
Following the patterns in books, // seeking dreams.
Until my tears stopped the smile,

The feeling of stopping comes from stopping,
Until the next heartbeat, // letting life begin.