Praise Song for the Holes in Pawpaw Leaves

Pawpaw trees don’t bear fruit for years. The saplings I’ve planted are a long way from feeding the opossums, foxes, squirrels, raccoons, and birds I planted them for, but even now their leaves could feed the caterpillars of the zebra swallowtail butterfly, just as the pokeweed leaves feed the caterpillars of the giant leopard moth long before the pokeberries are ripe enough to feed the birds. I have never seen a zebra swallowtail butterfly in this yard, or a giant leopard moth, either, but I know the leopard moths are here by the holes in the pokeweed leaves. If ever holes should appear in the pawpaw leaves, too, you will hear my shouts of delight and know the cause of my rejoicing.