The Star Mote — a Poem

The Star Mote

I parked beneath a favorite tree,
stepped up onto the yielding mulch
and reached for a leaf to touch, my morning
ritual before submitting to the

electronic cage. When I
stroked the lowest leaf, I saw
within its curl a crimson speck
of a spider mite,  on a

web no larger than a nickel.
Cupped in the sun’s red ray,
he seemed a mote from that distant
star itself. I spoke to him,

and why is it foolish to
suppose he didn’t fathom my
intent? I left him to the day and
his destruction of the leaf.

~ by S.K. Orr