Unsung Workers

In shadowed nook, on dusty floor, The rat, despised, seeks evermore. A scavenger, a hungry guest, Recycling wastes, putting life to test. Though scorned by man in nature's weave, A food source for the hawk, a seed to leave, It churns the earth, a burrow deep, While larger creatures quietly sleep. And cockroach scuttling quick and sly, Beneath the fallen leaves they lie. Not welcomed in our hurried day, Yet vital in the forest's way. They feast on rot, on wood decayed, A nutrient cycle silently made. For soil's rich health, their work unseen, A living link, forever keen. So in the wild beyond our gaze, These humble beings play their days. Though labels change in human sight, They balance life in dark and light.