Richard Wilbur’s short, narrative poem, “Death of a Toad,” suggests that the death of any creature, no matter how small or common, is a significant, mystical event, and a natural part of the cycle of life.

The opening lines of this poem reveal the simple fact that a toad has been run over by a lawn mower

Richard Wilbur’s short, narrative poem, “Death of a Toad,” suggests that the death of any creature, no matter how small or common, is a significant, mystical event, and a natural part of the cycle of life. The opening lines of this poem reveal the simple fact that a toad has been run over by a lawn mower, but there is nothing simple about Wilbur’s language or sentence structure as he announces “A toad the power mower caught.” This inverted syntax immediately creates a more formal, serious mood than would the more traditional word order: “a toad was caught by a power mower.” This serious mood permeates the remainder of the stanza, as Wilbur employs the kind of elevated language one might expect in a poem about a creature typically considered more significant than a lowly amphibian. This toad does not just struggle to the edge of the garden to find safety under the nearest shade tree. Instead he heroically drags himself to the “garden verge” where he is “sanctuaried” under “ashen and heartshaped leaves.” Sanctuary connotes not just safety, but a place of spiritual refuge, and the “heartshaped” foliage does not simply protect him from the sun but lovingly encompasses him with an ornamental covering. Together these elements create a solemn, mystical scene, and suggest that this creature deserves the kind of homage more often paid to an epic hero.