A Silent God

A wandering leaf subsided

among a clan of lonely spiders.

The arachnids exalted the leaf

and that satisfied their need

of having one true god,

though unusual and quite odd.

The arachnids created a temple

and inside they prayed something simple.

"Oh dear stranger maker,

we thank you, creator,

for giving us power, might,

and the great gift of life."

A forlorn beetle entered,

putting her life in great danger.

The churchgoers looked to their king.

"Oh, what do we do with this thing?"

The leaf made not a sound,

so the spiders thought in a way so profound

that they made the choice of their own.

"Do we do what we're prone?"

Alas the leaf had no answer.

"Ma'am, you are such a cancer."

The beetle was hurt by the spider's words.

"You have not listened to what you've heard."

The beetle begged the leaf for mercy.

She left the world without pity.

The lowly leaf shed a tear.

He could see, yes, and he could hear.

They tore her apart.

They did it with so much heart.

How can they do this, he thought,

how can they leave her body to wither and rot?

How could they stand before her?

They will never be as they were.

They're killers out of hate.

They don't think, they never wait.

The leaf screamed and cried,

"I am the reason she has died!"

"He spoke, he did.

He spoke, him.

He's a leaf, he can't talk

so much as we have only three legs to walk."

His exile brought tranquility and peace

to that lowly wandering leaf.