NaPoWriMo Day 2: Mr Mouse

 
Day 2 of the NaPoWriMo challenge at www.napowrimo.net.
 
Prompt: Anne Carson is a Canadian poet and essayist known for her contemporary translations of Sappho and other ancient Greek writers. Consider this version of Sappho’s Fragment 58, to which Carson has added a modern song-title, enhancing the strange time-defying quality of the translation. The poem directly addresses the Muses. We challenge you to write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of fact and something that seems out of place in time.

 
Mr Mouse
 
It is not his house,
but he acts as if he owns it.
He’s stamped his prints on it,
this cheeky teensy dormouse.
 
His nibbles speckle the kitchen lino,
pyramids of crumbs nest in the corners.
Follow these trails to the inner wall,
the hole that gives clue to his bedroom.
 
We never actually spy him.
He only creeps out while we’re dozing,
so we look out for his daily efforts,
his little eccentricities and squidgy presents.
 
He is the pet we never asked for,
but he fits in snug with our cosy clan,
never asks for anything, isn’t noisy,
keeps to himself and lets us run the show.
 
It is not his house,
but for some reason he has chosen us,
this invisible imp of the wild,
who sneaks around, so shy of nose.
 
One day we will set up a mouse-cam
to investigate what he does each day,
but for now we’ll indulge his privacy
and maintain our love of mystery.
 
Copyright Vickie Johnstone, April 24, 2025