A Mouse Tale

It’s hard not to wonder
if mice get post-traumatic
the stress of
recall repeat remember
the night
she levitated
formed circles
scaled stairs (twice)
ran and ran and ran
hid and hid and hid
found herself
in the most unlikely
predicaments:

cat’s mouth
cat’s paw
gloved hand
and then…

then…
that wide expanse of lawn
lit by the moon
and streetlight

I left her there at 2
it seemed the safest place
despite the trauma
     or because of it?

In daylight, will I find her
there still…
still in the grass
just a ghost in the walls?

I don’t dare look.

IMAGE: Study of Mice Dancing, Beatrix Potter. Poem @2023, Jen Payne. If you like this poem, you can read similar in my books and zines, available from Three Chairs Publishing on my ETSY SHOP. They come autographed, with gratitude and a small gift.