I came across a mouse hole at my grandmothers’ house.

I laid out some cheese,

But he did not come out.

I put out toasted bread, and buttered crackers, you see,

But that furry little pest did not come out yet for me.

So I filled a plate with cereal,

With a cookie beside,

But never did he come out from that place where he hides. 

So I filled a dish with milk, and put it down by his door,

And suddenly …

My kitten …

Who had wanted it more …

Scrambled from the hallway and across Grandma’s floor. 

I tried to pick him up, before he ruined it all,

But then to my horror

I fell to the floor
When I noticed the mouse staring out from his door. 

But what I saw

Was no mouse at all

He was ten times the size

With bloodshot eyes
And exposed three sets of teeth in his jaw. 

And once my kitten had seen what I’d seen

There was no way out.

There was no escaping

Because out from the wall

Came the mouse’s paws.

They were as big as my arms

With razor sharp claws. 

He reached for my kitten

And pulled at his spine

Slashing his torso and clenching his thigh

Then I blinked just once

And he was out of my sight

Then my kitten was gone …

This kitten of mine

Collapsing to the floor, my heart was racing about.

I saw my kitten’s face as he was trying to get out.

There was hissing

And clawing

And scratching and biting

He was devouring my cat while my cat was still fighting! 

But what could I do during this horrible sight?

So I reached for a knife

In the drawer to my right

And I took a deep breath

While gripping it tight

And wailed out a scream as I went in to fight! 

There was no other way for my kitten to win

So I stabbed through the hole

Again and again

While feeling the mouse tearing into my skin

As I continued to jab and slash at him 

While I stabbed at the mouse

I pulled at my kitten

I could feel every hole where the mouse had bitten

All three of us now, were battling it out

And when the pain was to great,

I pulled my arms out. 

My kitten disappeared,

While I watched from the floor,

There was ripping

And tearing

And so much more

Inside of the shadows there was so much gore

A hiss

A screech

Then an incredible roar

That left me in a state of shock on the floor. 

There were heart-stopping screeches again and again

And then it all stopped

And slowly but surely

My kitten crawled out

With no fur on his skin!  

But behind him, the beast

Not done with his feast-

Grasped hold of his chin

And pulled him back in! 

I raced to the hole

And reached for his paws

While I braced my feet to the sides of the walls

I gripped him tight

With his face in sight

I pulled

And pulled

With all my might

To end this mouse’s appetite 

I pulled and pulled

And fought the beast

With blood and sweat and grinding teeth.

I was lost for words to say the least!

But continued on and on.

I pulled and pulled those little paws

Until my adrenaline was gone 

With one last heave

I broke him free

Falling to the floor-

Scooting away with my feet

With my kitten on top

Just looking at me

We were out of harms way…

My kitten and me 

I could hear the mouse’s anger

As the cat lay on my chest

I had won the battle for him,

Taking every ounce of breath. 

As I laid there gazing at his eyes

His humble face stared back at mine.

I laughed a little

I cried a little

And then I pulled him close.

I rubbed my crying face to his…
Cheek to cheek

Nose to nose.   

And although his fur had been pulled away

My kittens’ warmth brought a smile my way.

He can grow it back

And that’s a fact

But my kitten, that mouse will never get back. 

Then finally, my family came rushing in

With my grandma close behind

But now, how will I tell them

Without it sounding like a lie?

With blood on my hands

And tears in my eyes,

I took a deep breath

And I dropped the knife. 

I came to my feet, and approached them all

Keeping my distance

From the hole in the wall. 

With the kitchen a mess …

And me in distress

I paused, but continued on.

I stood before my father –

Handing the cat back to my mom. 

While thinking of a logical

And believable way

To explain

This unspeakable

And unimaginable day…

My mother, she gasped, as she held out the cat

Who was dripping with blood from his bottom half

She shivered a scream

While staring at me

As the kitten fell lifeless between her feet 

I looked-

But no way could my eyes adapt

That the only part that remained of my cat

Was his head…

His shoulders…

Basically, the upper half  

It was then when it occurred to me…

That the warmth I had felt when he laid on me…

Was the warmth of his blood

Spilling out on my chest

And that mouse…

That thing…

Had consumed the rest. 

Then grandma accused me of telling them lies

She said it was I, who took his life

She said, I had gutted the cat with the knife

And there was something quite wrong going on in my mind

She was very convincing with her outburst of cries

And demanded that I be hospitalized.

Then she picked up the phone

And called the asylum

And the police showed up

With the men in the white

But whatever it was that had lived in that wall

It wasn’t the creepiest part of it all… 

When they cuffed up my wrists

To bring me to you

I turned to my parents

And my grandmother too

I could see that my parents were down on their knees

While my grandmother watched, as she sipped on her tea

And I could see through the window

That my parents were crying …

But my grandma…

Who stood there so crooked and thin

She stood there and stared

Then my grandma …

She grinned! 

And that’s all I recall, and what I told is what I know.

But no one will believe me, ‘cause I’m eleven years old.

No one will believe me about what lives in that house.

Because who would believe a story about a cat-eating mouse?  

 

                

 
THE LUNACY MACHINE
(cOVER TO cOVER sTORIES)

Through The Eye of His Only Son (intro poem)
The Starving Author (the beginning of everything (a poem)
Avalanche (No more skiing alone (a poem)
South of The Covered Bridge (A deceiving (a poem)
Presents in The Cellar (A paranormal experience in the basement (a poem)
A Bump in The Night (Alone at Grandma's (a poem)
Half Dead (The average man lives to be 67 (a poem)
Spiders (Where spiders go at night (a poem)
Grandma (A limerick plus one line about the other side of Grandma (a poem)
Dead Cat (A cat has nine lives, but not all are equally nice (a poem)
Night of The Twister (A stand-off between man and mother nature (a poem)
The Boy Who Knew Too Little (A know-it-all boy learns the hard way (a poem)
Infection (Take care of your spider bites (a poem)
Ouija poem
Edge of Madness poem
Mouse Hole poem
Writer's Cramp poem
Red Eye ( A simple trip to the doc can land you in the loony bend (a poem)
Under The Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz limerick... one year later (a poem)
Mouse Coffin (why not to drink alcohol and build coffins poem)
Where The Floor Creaks (Why some houses are sold cheap (a poem)
Room 402 (Don't feed the dead man... you'll get caught (a poem)
What Gnaws on My Spine (Sometimes, when your back hurts... (a poem)
Twisted Fate ( Next time, go right instead of left (a poem)
Sick (Never watch television with a high fever (a poem)
The Devil in Dr. Feddlestine (Addiction = lunacy (a poem)
Complaint Department (Form a line behind my wife (a poem)