Magnum Opus

[Pendragon]

Magnum Opus

There is a little mouse that lives in the corner of the barn.
Somehow her children always have enough food to survive.
No matter how the wind blows, she makes certain they are warm.
Hers is not an easy life, and yet this young mother really thrives.
It is not always easy to find food; she must dodge the deadly poison.
There are traps that promise tasty tidbits and yet mean sudden death.
But she is an old hand at her gathering and very good at avoiding
The Reaper. Sometimes though she’s escaped only by a handbreadth.
She tenderly cares for her young until the day when they leave her nest,
Go off on their own and live lives of their own, maybe here in the barn.
Those who have learned mamma’s lessons well will survive the best,
Those that haven’t may find themselves dead out on the weeds before long.
The little mouse finds another mate when her season comes back around:
And our story begins again with a new littler of mice: second round!

Pendragon
© 12/19/07

[barbara0207]

Very touching, Pen. The circle of life, mouse-wise, so to speak. I loved that mouse image. How did you hit upon it? Did you watch an actual mouse or was it just an image in your head?

[ampoule]

A metaphor?
Thinking of 'not even a mouse' at Christmas time, I thought this would be a cute one to read to my little charges, but thought twice about the dead part. ;) I agree with Barbara. You did capture the circle of life very well.

[firefangled]

I enjoyed this very much, Pen. You frequently capture those small things we do not often consider. Thank you.

[CdnReader]

Loved this one, Pen. Great read. :)

[Pendragon]

Very touching, Pen. The circle of life, mouse-wise, so to speak. I loved that mouse image. How did you hit upon it? Did you watch an actual mouse or was it just an image in your head?I'm lucky enough to have married a country girl. As we all always were turning over logs, and pieces of wood just to see what we could catch (she's a tomboy!) we once found a mouse nest with babies. That was my image. Mart's nickname is Mouse! Also the reason I used a mouse is "Magnum Opus" means "Great Work", and to me, the smaller of God's creations are the great work.

[AuntShecky]

A delightful story. In fact, the form of this piece is more
of a folk tale than a poem because it's set up in simple, declarative sentences; however, the title is the best part as it contrasts with the relative diminutive size of the subject of the piece, as well as your addendum about "God's great work." Oh, this piece is so nice.
Ah, Pen, I envy your country living and miss my old country home sorely even as the winter winds rage.

[mazHur]

nice narrative didactic poem. Congrats Pen on this lovely piece

[motherhubbard]

What a wonderful poem. I love the idea that we all have a great work in our children or in what ever little thing we do well. It’s all of these little things that mean the most. The mice in your poem were so cute and endearing. I could have lived without hearing about the nest under the log though.

[Pendragon]

What a wonderful poem. I love the idea that we all have a great work in our children or in what ever little thing we do well. It’s all of these little things that mean the most. The mice in your poem were so cute and endearing. I could have lived without hearing about the nest under the log though.Spock, Our Norway Rat, might disagree.

Pen

[motherhubbard]

pen, I can't look. Sorry. It's just the one thing I can't deal with. I'm sure he's cute (to you).

[Pendragon]

A farm girl with a bad case of the heebie-jebiees!

[michael336]

I love the transition of the seeming coziness of the barn, to the struggle to survive, to the brutal reality of may find themselves dead out on the weeds before long