“Ode to a Toad”, writing homework help

Think of an object that you use a lot – your cell phone or your MP3 player or your computer.  Now create a humorous verse about this item.  It should contain at least six lines and it should reflect how you CANNOT live without this item.  Be sure to give it a title;  it does not need to rhyme (although this adds to the humor of such a poem). 

The following poem was written by a high school student, Anne-Marie Wulfsberg.  Read this poem and try to figure out its tone.

“Ode to a Toad”Toad on the grass

I was out one day for my usual jog

(I go kinda easy, rarely full-hog)

When I happened to see right there on the road

The squishy remains of a little green toad.

I thought to myself, where is his home?

Down yonder green valley, how far did he roam?

From out on the pond I heard sorrowful croaks,

Could that be the wailing of some of his folks?

I felt for the toad and his pitiful state,

But the day was now fading, and such was his fate.

In the grand scheme of things, now I confess,

What’s one little froggie more or less?

The tone of this short poem is obviously humorous.  Many authors develop their own tone and so many of their poems are written in a serious tone or a self-mocking tone or an impersonal tone.