Underneath a leaf

Leaves had been falling for weeks
and a good many of them covered the ground
during the final days of winter in Pai,
the nights still cool,
but no longer cold,
the afternoons hot
but comfortably warm in the shade

Heat and dryness increasing their presence
in the garden,
many flowers saying goodbye
for now,
preparing to hibernate
until the rains come in June
and revive them

Many shades of green and brown,
pleasing to the eye,
microscopic empires
battling it out
on the undersides of leaves,
unobserved by most
of the other beings in the garden

Still and aware,
walking
around the garden,
observing,
listening,
birds singing

A shower of leaves
falling slowly,
providing the earth with cover
from the heat of the sun
and shelter for small beings

Little cobra,
scorpion,
pretty stone or feather,
you never know what’s underneath a leaf