On hind-legs, front paws assertive like little pink boxing gloves,
The mouse sniffs the air in an environment turned hostile.
His opponent, tail swishing blue-eyed monster, readies its body for the jump
But hesitates while seconds drop, frozen in time.
No attack is possible while rules of chivalry persist
And so, mouse and cat stay locked in arcane opposition
Trapped on the floor of an old cottage.
Will the cat leap into the fray or can the mouse escape
Without trace before the suspense becomes too great?
Nobody knows until the outer world
In shape of a human being enters and the duo becomes a triangle of violence
The cat pounds, the mouse transforms into a tiny warrior
But nothing can obstruct the falling of a broom
Did the mouse escape?
Perhaps this time, but cats will be cats and so
Mice lead a precarious existence
***
From Animal Kingdom
© HMH, 2013
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