MAKE OF THIS WHAT YOU WILL

MAKE OF THIS WHAT YOU WILL
by Randall Nicholas

In a garbage can in the garage
I store the seed
to feed the birds,
its lid shut tight
and covered with a heavy rug
to keep it shut.
This morning,
once I pulled away the rug
and yanked off the lid,
inside the can
I saw a mouse
poised on the seed—
how it got in I do not know.
I put the lid back on,
shut it tight,
and opened the garage door.
I took the lid back off
and with a coffee can
employed to ship the seed
to feed the birds
went after the mouse, so quick
it slipped my every thrust.
I put my gloves on
and went after it by hand.
No better luck,
but then it vanished—
where I couldn’t tell.
I glanced around the floor,
only to feel a skitter in my jacket sleeve.
I closed the cuff
with my other hand,
ran to the open door,
and peeled the jacket off.
The mouse ran up the driveway,
gone.