Mice tease out the seeds
from grass heads, and they weave
the soft chaff into bedding

(I know because
when we moved lumber
we found a stash)

I don’t know if they camp
or homestead. I don’t know
if we uprooted them
or if they were long gone

I know they have busy hands
and keen noses, and they seek heat
and water, and soft fiber,
and they get around.
I know they can live without us
but I think they would rather not.

©Wendy Mulhern
June 26, 2019