Theodicy

Für Gottfried Wilhelm

There's a chipmunk in my house.

It ran out toward me across the gleaming stovetop

This morning as I was pouring tea,

Driven no doubt by thirst--or hunger,

A pretty little creature with bright, inquisitive eyes,

Then fled back to safety behind the range.

Muggs, my toothless cat, waits patiently below.

She’s been after the critter for some days now

Ever since it first appeared in my bedroom, scuttling around a corner.

She’ll get it eventually and perhaps bring it to me unharmed, as she once did a baby rabbit (I set it free).

Or leave it for me on the stairway dead.

I, godlike, should not interfere, much as I might wish to. I'll see!

In this, the best--and only--possible world, as Leibniz said.

November 22, 2023