The Horned Toad: Phrynosoma cornatum

Janelle Curlin-Taylor

February 2, 2025

Is there a critter more Texan? Looking remarkably like a

Very small Triceratops or a very large armored diatom

They stand their ground, spitting blood to the delight of small children.

As a child, I discovered if I got down on the ground and was very still

The Horned Toad would stop spitting, cock its angular little head and

We could talk for hours in the language of children and critters.

This discovery lead me beneath the neighborhood church (not my own)

Built up on concrete blocks. Wanting to take my new friend home,

And after successfully coaxing her into a shoe box, I became stuck.

Crying out for help, a neighbor heard my cries and alerted my mother.

I don’t remember how I was freed from this earnest enterprise.

I do remember my mother’s patience.

The flys we collected to feed my friend, (who prefers to eat ants)

And the gentle coaxing that, after a time, we should set my friend free.

Phrynosoma cornatum – most Texas of critters. Little but mighty.

What were we thinking as we gazed into each other’s eyes?

Janelle Curlin-Taylor, a Texas poet living in Tennessee, inherited the poetry gene from her grandfather and her mother. Published in various Texas journals and anthologies, she is grateful to Texas Poetry Assignment for keeping Texas and poetry close.  She is married to California poet Jeffrey Taylor.