Bleak gray morning
cold cold rain
Welcome to school, kids
how was your holiday?
Long long day
shivering in the drafts
whispers drift the halls
ruminant rumors of flu
Weariness in the bones
driving, driving home
a leaf rolls across
the gray gray road
-wait.
That’s not a leaf.
Tiny tiny legs
tiny tiny tail
gray gray mouse
infinitely frail
running, running
for all it’s worth
across the gray gray road
after all the traps
I’ve set in my house
I want to cry
for this one small mouse
make it, please make it
to a warm safe place
away from this road
and the cold cold rain
a stab in my heart
for the tiny tiny thing
in this big big world
so full of pain
yet
a teeny tiny spark
on this gray gray day
to keep me skittering on
my homeward way
Field mouse. Vincent Cornelius.
*******
Happy New Year to all
and may you find joy
every day
in the littlest things
that come your way
Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for for the Tuesday Slice of Life Story Challenge
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lit bits and pieces 
What a lovely, lovely poem on a cold, cold day in Connecticut! The word choices and the repetition created music and beats I could hear in my head as I read. And yes, mice are cuter and more appealing OUTSIDE than INSIDE where they seem to find lots of things to eat and make beds out of!
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Fran, I can see the mouse – – and the setting, so similar to my own. The field mouse here are a real nuisance indoors, but your poem makes me want to invite them all in for a cup of cocoa and a warm blanket. Seriously, this could be a picture book illustrated by none other than Scout and Micah. It’s perfect, with a bit of a llama llama feel except that it’s a mouse. Your new character to bring to life and take everywhere!
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As much as I loathe mice (inside my home), I found myself wanting to protect your little mouse on such a cold, rainy day. I agree with Kim-this could be the making of a cute children’s story. 🙂
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I’m glad I clicked to read your sweet poem. I love the repetition on words!
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Love the fun repetition and your cheering for the mouse. My dog caught a tree frog and suddenly I was frantically trying to save it. He seemed to look at me with expectation. I put the dog in the kennel and let my husband save the frog.
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Fran, this delightful poem filled with repetition and sincerity makes me feel better for the mouse in my garage that is looking for warmth during the winter storms. Yor grandchildren and students will love your poem. May you continue to bring your writing to TWT to brighten our days.
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Fran, I read your poem and was reminded of why mice make such charming protagonists. Leo Lionni, Beverly Cleary, Robert O’Brien…and Fran. Yes, I am a fellow human who has been known to keep mouse traps inside the home. Still, there’s something to be said for the sheer hope I feel when I see a tiny animal like a mouse, braving the elements to survive on its own.
Maybe because there are so many times when I, too, feel like that skittering mouse, faced with a world that feels big, overwhelming, confusing. Some days it’s all I can do to zip up my courage and get myself out there.
And now, I’m wondering. *IS* it courage? Or is it just the need to keep moving, keep surviving, that pulls me out and into the fray? It certainly doesn’t feel brave, not most of the time. But maybe, like your mouse, it is a flash, a spark.
Thanks, as always, for getting me thinking!
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