The Batrachian Preacher "Every morning the rooster crows…" (Now hang-on-a-minute - that's not how it goes!) Every morning when the rooster should crow, (If we had one, that is, and I ought to know), At the first glimpse of sun (or artificial light Streaming from my window bright) A Loud-mouthed Frog in the drainpipe, sings; It's voice in haunting echo rings Up, up the drain-pipe (or is it down?) He (she?) sings a song to wake the town.     'Though lacking the rooster's plumage rare- Bold colours of feathers, suffused with hue The early-morning voice is there: With a 'croak-croak-croak'… Not a 'cock-a-doodle-doo'! Not sunrise-silhouetted on a distant fence But in a gloomy drainpipe, Hidden from my vision This songster chants his rousing call- Complete with a moral, If I stop to listen. "Just as Apostle Peter was shocked to reality At the prophesied rooster's cry, The 'croak-croak-croak' from the unseen throat Is a wake-up shock ...

God, make me a little kinder A little more tender and true Not needing a constant reminder Of the things that I should do. God, make me more easy to live with Less ready to get hurt and vexed, More patient and helpful in dealing With the worried, the sad, the perplexed. An eager disciple to follow The steps where my Master has trod Not afraid of the storms and the shadows If my pathway leads straight to God. Lionel Hartley, Good News Unlimited (magazine) 1994 Falsely attributed to Mary Eversley in the Ewell Parish News January 2012 - Page 5 (The monthly newspaper of St Mary the Virgin, Ewell, Surrey.) Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .