This Mouse

 

 

This mouse was special.

I remember her even though

it was over 30 years ago.

She carried her many babies

from one exposed corner to a hidden one,

trailing bravely across the counter, offspring

in her mouth, grasping one at a time,

back and forth – each infant so tiny and transparent

you could see the milk they just suckled in their bellies,

each so helpless with closed eyes and barely a sound.

 

This mouse was somebody.

She was grey and looked typical for a mouse.

All of us working there loved her

and let her and her offspring live. Eventually

we moved them to a safe cage and later

to an abandoned warehouse. We fed her

and watch her feed until her babies grew

and weaned.

 

This mouse risked her own exposure and life

to save her brood, each time running back and forth.

If she wasn’t at an animal sanctuary, no doubt

she would have been killed.

This mouse shocked me with her audacity,

showed me the courage necessary for motherhood,

which some call instinct, but I call and know it

as love.

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Copyright © by Allison Grayhurst 2026

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Synchronized Chaos” October 2026

https://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-allison-grayhurst-18/

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You can listen to the poem below:

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