An afternoon so beautiful, gentle breeze, shining sun 
Sitting resting under pine trees — just for fun 
Strange curiosity: one frantic leaf swinging from left to right 
Periodically pausing briefly, no visible cause, but a pendulum with full might 
The leaf stem nearly broken 
It dangles by a thread 
From side to side as if blown by the wind 
But something internal is causing it instead 
No visible explanation 
Why would this be? 
Has anyone ever studied such things? 
Is it possible the culprit to see? 
Does anyone else ever notice 
When one lonely leaf dangles in the woods? 
And yet there must be purpose 
For everything God created is good! 
I don’t understand what’s causing it 
I don’t understand why 
I don’t know what creature is responsible 
Does it crawl on land or fly? 
Does the plant feel pain at losing 
A precious part of itself? 
Or is it happy to contribute 
To God’s creative wealth? 
He knows what’s happening 
He even knows why 
He knows who’s doing it 
For He created all, on earth and in the sky 
The same is true in our lives 
No matter what, He knows 
No matter who, He knows 
No matter where, He knows. 
© Lukas Westevy
2005
