Queroqè the Frog: An Autobiography

I WAS born in the suburbs of Bologna,
In a lotus pond.
Standing on his head and kicking the sky--
The sight of a grebe
Was a source of amazement to me.
My name is Queroqè--
A title conferred by myself, of course.
One day I was caught in a net
And borne straight off to a university;
To the Galvani Laboratory, in fact.
Some students (as it transpired)
Passed by, humming a barcarolle--
On that afternoon, in the year 1780,
A scalpel was applied to my abdomen,
And the world conceived the idea of the electric
current.
I was dead,
I was out of this world,
The Italian heaven was very, very beautiful.

Conversation on an Autumn Night

CHILLY.
Isn't it chilly!
The insects chirrup.
Yes, they do.
Soon have to go underground.

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