21 December 2023
Twas the Week of Christmas
By Debra Milligan
Twas the week of Christmas
and all through the house
every creature was stirring,
including
Noelle Mouse.
She was busy with cheeses,
and having teas,
wrapping up presents
to such a degree
that all the loud commotion
amongst Humankind
threatened her aura
and her sensible mind.
“They must be bonkers,”
she said to herself.
“Not a single moment given
to anyone else.”
It clearly disturbed her,
this wise little waif,
all the moaning and groaning
for poor Christmas’s sake.
There’s not enough money,
there’s not enough peace,
there’s not enough hope,
and,
When do we eat?!
“They ought to see me,”
said Noelle Mouse
right out loud
to The House.
“For an entire crowd
I’m inventing merriment
from cookie crumbs,
and cheese nips
and cracker dust.
And all they can do
is complain
about Christmas.”
It clearly perturbed her,
to hear the disturbance
and to see
how petty
some humans can be.
Her best friend,
the House Mouse,
paid her a call,
scurrying through woodwork
to reach this covert cubbyhole.
“I think you’re taking it all too
hard,
and
much like hard cheese,
You’ll never be able to please
yourself or anyone else,
with this attitude
toward the human
ingratitude.”
“But what am I to do?”
Noelle Mouse asked her
mouse-pal
who always had a clue
on how to
Get through the Human Holidays
like a true saint.
“First, we need a coffee break,”
House-Mouse sat down
on a well-worn tuffet.
“With some chocolate-chip
cookies, or a blueberry muffin.
Running around like humans
at this time of the year
is sure to exhaust you
and fill you with fear
till you lose any and all cheer
for Yuletide
and who should know better
how to abide
than a mouse named Noelle?
You surprise me,
with all that you’ve learned,
expecting the humans
to turn over a new stone.”
“Turn over a new leaf,” intoned
Noelle Mouse.
Then she sat down
on her own little tuffet,
and sighed like a worn-out puppet:
“The reason for the season
has escaped me.”
House-Mouse took the slender hand
of her very best friend,
and, tenderly, she smiled,
to put an end
to the lament
from this lovely rodent.
“I can see,” House-Mouse whispered
as her voice slowly drifted
toward the sound of giving:
“You’ve escaped the reason
for the season,
but He won’t be denied.
You still have time
to forgive the lesser creatures
and all their mortal features.
All creatures great and small
can come to call
at Bethlehem’s stall
to rejoice, every one,
that the Spirit of Christmas
has only just begun.”