Open (Notevember 2021, #22)

Four froggy companions
Through mountains and canyons
Had traveled on roads leading home
They had walked for a week
‘Long the banks of a creek
Where ‘twas said crocodilians did roam

Other frogs would stay clear
But these ones had no fear
They were fierce, the adventuring kind
In short, they all reasoned
They were battle-seasoned
And safe, with their powers combined

They had fought hungry storks
And escaped Frenchmen’s forks
And a witch who believed they were toads
They had not bested dragons
But bootheels, and wagons
And perils like these on the road

They had delved into dungeons
Where broomsticks and truncheons
Were wielded against them with force
But came out victorious
Their stories were glorious!
(And all of them truthful, of course)

This night, in the damp
As they set up their camp
They had noticed a cavern nearby
“Let’s not yet go to bed”
“Let’s explore!” someone said
“At the least, we should give it a try”

They marched to the grotto
Reciting their motto
“Audacious anurans, advance!”
With amphibian ambition
They… slowed down their mission
To throw the cave entrance a glance

Strangely sharp stalactites
All a yellowy white
Decked the overhang, set in a row
And beneath, on the floor
There were several more
Stalagmites poking up from below

“They don’t look like stone”
“Rather off-white, like bone”
That enough should have given them pause
Yet Hopper, their ranger
Claimed that he sensed danger
But could not determine the cause

Their wizard-slash-cleric
A fellow named Erik
Said “Give me a moment to pray”
The rogue, name of Finn,
Said “But I’m going in”
“So you might be alone if you stay”

The berserker, Brandon
Rushed in with abandon
As berserkers frequently do
Shouting “Follow me, boys!”
So the rest had no choice
But to join him – a team through and through

“By the Gods of the bog”
“We’re not tadpoles – we’re frogs!”
Said the berserker, egging them on
“If a beast should attack”
“We will strike it right back!”
“And I know we will triumph anon”

Then he stopped, saying: “Boys”
“What’s that breathing-like noise?”
While the ranger said “What’s with the ground?”
“It’s all squishy and wet”
In that moment, I bet
They all realized the source of the sound…

Four froggy companions
Passed mountains and canyons
And would have arrived in their swamp
Had they not been so “brave”
As to enter that cave —
So the last thing they heard was a “chomp!”