Traveling Sidesaddle on a Toad

I’m tired of my mode.
I’ve gone mixolydian—
ear’s new abode.

I’ll take the road
from wherever I’m abiding,
my mode

of transportation a hop-toad.
Toads are poor travelers, hopping or riding.
A toad’s abode

is a hole
under some rotting
leaves or a rock, a mode

of existence that would suit
me fine, thanks. No equal-tempered tuning
in that world—abode

of Ériu and Mbokamu.
Major-minor-modal singing.
An old mode
in a new abode.