A silent partner, a friend unsung
He guarded my garden with nimble tongue
With taste buds active both day and night
He feasted on every bug in sight
Although our greetings were rather discreet
When in my garden we chanced to meet
Today I learned I had lost a friend
While weeding the cabbage just downwind
His beauty was never so great to behold
Maybe in youth, but this fellow was old
He can't watch the garden now that he's dead
But he's serving as fertilizer instead
Jim C. Carpenter