The Rodent (Poetry)

This week, I wanted to take a deep dive into my love for mice, yes, mice: small and smelly, quick thinkers, and true survivalists. I am lucky enough to work with them every day and get a sense of their true nature. In this blog post, I am going to take a deep dive into my connection with these beautiful creatures through poetry and reflection.

I am a rodent
Trapped inside a place
That is on many scales larger than me Constantly lost
Constantly scared
Constantly worried
I don’t know how to properly survive
All I know is food and sleep
So I sleep all day
Hiding from the people who want to hurt me
I’m sure that if I confronted them they would hurt me All I know is is food and sleep 

So I eat all day
There is no structure to me
I have nothing or no one
I have a void
So I fill it with food

I eat until I’m to the point of sickness 

What else am I to do
I try my best to run away from the humans But they trap me
They trick me
They do everything in their power to get rid of me So why wouldn’t I just get rid of myself Leave on my terms

No one would care 

I had a journal in eighth grade. One where I would write my every thought. Where I would make beautiful my pain. In that journal, I wrote this down. Something about the mouse, the rodent I was so drawn to. I could understand its pain, its fear in the world. I related to it and thought that was the end. To be led into a trap by forces larger then me and be caught in that pain until it was over was what life looked like. That is sad, that is scary to think about now and to compare with what my life looks like now.

As a biology major, a portion of my freshman year of college was spent searching for different laboratories to work in. Of course, as the universe would have it, I was hired in the lab that worked with mice. The ability to see these wondorous little animals up close, to understand their habits and cues, look into their eyes and know that what we (the mice and I) are doing here is vital research information that can help real people. By the time I worked in the lab, I was better, in a better headspace, able to think more positively and intricately about the things around me. Seeing the life, and death of these mice in a different setting than what eighth grade Alyssa would have imagined was life – changing.

I have a mouse tattoo on my arm, a Pinterest board of ones I find cute, and I am the biggest mouse fan. A mouse is not a creature that exists to be in pain; a mouse is one that survives. That works through every obstacle thrown at it. Finds time to sleep eat and groom itself and knows that its time here, whether in a lab, roaming free, or trespassing in a kitchen, the mouse’s life is valuable. I resonate with this version of the mouse more. My time is very valuable, wherever I am if I feel out of place, I will make it through I will survive it. I am the rodent.

Thank you for checking out my blog and for supporting my work and poetry it means everything to me. Thank a mouse today and stay Alive and All Over.