my little sister met a mouse for the very first time
sitting with me one late summer day
in hushed awe she watched it scurry across wood beams
climb down the length of my cut sunflower stalks
and stash something away in a dark, hidden corner
before making her journey all the way back up again
it did not take long for me to realize her treasure
and so i guided the little one over with me
where we moved the obstruction that was her cave
there lay two little mice, eyes still tiny slits
and still pink on their protruding tips
that little one melted, told me this she would never forget
and i thought back to those little mice i would never forget
four of them stone cold and just as still
and the fifth still squeaking but unable to move or see
shivering and shuddering as i sobbed and saw its mother
wide, terrified eyes--floating in the poison i had forgotten was deadly
we left the little creatures exposed and i watched in relief
as the mother returned and whisked them away again
for i have had far too much death already
and i could not keep them safe there
not after the fate of those similarly positioned bunnies
torn out of their hutch by my parents' dog
though i could swat away the wasps i could not bring them back to life
and after all the other animals that i had seen just before they died
i could not risk the chance of that little one suffering
feeling the vibrations from the proximity of my accursed web
though saved of some understanding and experience
her and i must both carry the weight of being unable to forget
