During the First Year of the Pandemic, a Frog Snuck into the House

Our only visitor for months and months and months. I made my way to the front door, and there it was, hopping around the foyer. We transported it to a cool, shaded location in our backyard. When we found the perfect spot and placed our amphibian friend among the leaves and new plants, it didn’t take long for it to bound away and disappear. We never could tell whether the croaking we heard after dark was partly our guest. It lulled us to sleep. Like a talisman in the havoc of that year. As I think about our frog visitor today, I still don’t know how it got in. But we never really know when something sneaks inside. And the surprise when we find it might just be what we need.

Kevin A. Risner (he/him) is from Ohio. He is the author of Do Us a Favor (Variant Literature, 2021), You Thought This Was Just Gonna Be About Cleveland, Didn't You (Ghost City Press, 2022), and There's No Future Where We Don't Have Fire (ELJ Editions, forthcoming in 2025).