The Mouse

On our corner a house is broken and exposed

And tarps hang like a cloths on line and blow 

In a wind that's drifted down from the north.

Homeless mice wander back and forth

Beneath and between these shared foundations 

Brick and earth and cracks in the floors

And well fed cats that just look and ignore. 

Little mouse I hear you and want to be kind, 

And let you house here beneath my floor. 

I admire your will to hide and eat and thrive

Amid the dangers that a mammal can't ignore. 

I want to let you be and live and bide;

I think of my job, my house, and goods that subside

You make me believe that I could survive.