White-footed Mouse · Indigo Lake

White-footed Mice in Winter, Cleveland, 2020

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by Michelle Skupski

I want to like these mice,
I do. For my 8-year-old son

and his mess of predator/
prey lines in science class.

I feel safe
in that web. The mice

are always at the bottom
like in 7th grade

when I reached into the dark
shelf of my locker

and fingered the cold
squish of the dead

mouse. I didn’t want to
toss it in the trash

for the smell so I slid it
on my teacher’s desk and

left. I wanted to leave
my unease there too,

the memory of a lost
mouse stumbling through

our kitchen when I was 12,
my little brother climbing

the kitchen table, screeching
because a mouse does not belong

here. I am not a natural predator.
I don’t need

this mouse for anything and yet
here I am nearing my 38th year

still holding all these mice
close, squeezing. They scramble

around in my mind like
the many that foraged our attic

floorboards as I tried to sleep.
They won’t let me

rest. And I wonder now
who or what is safe

and when. I have a house
and a door and a lock and

still I find another mouse
making a home

in my other son’s rollerblade,
soft padding for safety

of another kind. Mouse,
will you ever leave me

alone? Dearest Self,
you are safe in your mask

in your bubble with a broken
garage door and not enough

money for repair. Today
you will feed the birds.

Continue Reading

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CoyoteStephanie Ginese

Common MilkweedDelilah McCrea

Showy OrchisBill Newby

American Witch-hazelQuartez Harris

Common CarpDavid Hassler

Common PawpawIsaiah Back-Gaal

MayappleRebecca Wohlever

Common DewberryPeter McWilliams

North American River OtterAnastasios Mihalopoulos

Winter FireflyIsaiah Hunt

Virginia BluebellsBronlynn Thurman

American RobinKari Gunter-Seymour

American CrowJason Harris

Eastern CottontailEros Livieratos

Bald-faced HornetKJ Ceranowski

Poverty OatgrassHaylee Schwenk

Song SparrowVirginia Konchan

Wood DuckDiana Lueptow

Japanese HoneysuckleShei Sanchez

Yellow BullheadTed Lardner

Funeral BellTishon Woolcock

Common DandelionCora Liderbach

WarmouthCamille Ferguson

Snapping TurtleJessica Jewell

SassafrasAndrea Imdacha

Poison IvyMarina Vladova

Pharaoh CicadaCathy Barber

Northern Dusky SlugRay McNiece

JewelweedJudith Mansour

DamselfliesKen Tomaro

BloodrootChad Lutz

KilldeerMary Biddinger

Big Brown BatSujata Lakhe

Barred OwlCourtney Noster

Long-eared OwlMichael Loderstedt

Isabella Tiger MothLeah Graham

American SycamoreMegan Lubey

Water Forget-Me-NotAlyssa Perry

Masked BeesZach Savich

TrilliumKimberlee Medicine Horn Jackson

CrayfishConor Bracken

Great Blue HeronDan Dorman

American SweetgumCaryl Pagel

Painted TurtleRebekah Ainsworth

Green DarnerMarion Boyer

American BeaverKatie Daley

Eastern Screech-OwlDr. R. Ray Gehani

Spring PeeperBarbara Sabol

Eastern Carpenter BeeSylvia Clark

Jacob's LadderRisha Nicole

Candleflame LichenClara Britton

Eastern NewtElizabeth Ryan

American BullfrogLaura Grace Weldon

American ChestnutCarrie George

American GoldfinchMarybeth Cieplinski

American HornbeamJeff Gundy

Artist’s BracketSusann Moeller

Banded Fishing SpiderCharlie Malone

BluegillOlivia Farina

Common Star-of-BethlehemBrita Alaburda

Common StonefliesKaren Schubert

Eastern ChipmunkNathan Kemp

Firefly BeetleJacquie Peoples Dukes

Gray CatbirdTheresa Brightman

Great MulleinLaurie Kincer

Green HeronPaula J. Lambert

HepaticaAmanda Schuster

Interrupted FernKathleen Cerveny

Jack-in-the-PulpitMichael Buebe

Meadow VoleRoberta Jupin

Monarch ButterflyDeborah Fleming

MuskratCatherine Wing

Pearl CrescentMonica Kaiser

Poison HemlockJon Conley

Star JelliesCameron Gorman

Sugar MapleSteve Brightman

Turkey VultureAndrew Gilkey

White-footed MouseMichelle Bissell

White-tailed DeerBenjamin Rhodes

Wild CarrotJessica Jones

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Traveling Stanzas community arts projects bring poetry to people’s everyday lives through innovative methods and digital platforms.