Things Hard To Understand Poem by Richard Randolph

A love letter no one reads,
a strange man no one needs,
a seed dropped upon the sand,
a starving child in a barren land--

Why trees reach toward the sky,
and grown men forget how to cry,
why a bird sings to its mate,
though she's gone and it's too late--

Why a man when he's lost his way,
blindly stumbles on anyway,
or a boxer too bruised to see,
still flails his arms desperately--.

Why falling stars light up the sky,
though no one sees them before they die,
why a wild animal trapped within a cage
learns to live with its rage--

Why one cruel word can cause a heart to burst,
and strong drink can never quench one's thirst,
why mountain streams blindly seek the sea,
and silence can whisper a name endlessly.