A Pacific Northwest native, I have been writing poetry over 40 years. My poems reflect a woman’s journey through the later years, with recurring themes of loss and renewal.
Tim’s Comments:
Cathy’s poem THE PARTY features another theme in her poetry. Cathy takes what could have been an irritating event when discovering a mess guests had left behind them and turns the mess into a delightful description of mice having a good time. Do we really know that mice don’t have fun while making a mess for us?
Image Credits: Mice Band – Clarke Roberts; “Party Mice” – Ina Worms
Photo Credit: Lorelie Olson
When friends use our cabin,
we caution them not to leave any nuts behind.
Of course they ask why and so we tell them the story
of what happened when a visitor left a large bag
of unshelled peanuts on the kitchen counter.
Within days a mouse peered through
the window and saw them. Dazzled by the unclaimed feast,
He alerted his relatives, then slipped through a crack in the floor.
the others squeezed in after him and the revelry began.
The fiesta went on for days. We found shells scattered
throughout the house, bits of mouse fur on the carpet,
two overturned margarita glasses, and piles of shredded paper,
no doubt the remains of piñata
I’m sure there was a mariachi band, wild dancing
and who knows what went on in dark corners.
For one unfortunate mouse it proved to be the last party
-we found him in the bathtub. The others stayed
until the food ran out. Then crept home,
dragging friends who had been overserved.
The story is now legendary in the mouse kingdom.
All agree it was the celebration of the century.
Years later, old mice will tell their children
“Yeah, you should have been there.
Never seen so much food in my life.”
We are sure they send scouts to our cabin
now and then to peer through the windows
in hopes of another party, so we remind
all our guests to leave no nuts behind.
To read Cathy Ross’s previously published poem –click here –
