This one was inspired by the random words Merril posted yesterday. It was freezing and dark yesterday; it’s freezing and dark today.
Dark times
No bird-voices ring out,
only the drum beat of the wind,
the fretful voice from the sea
and its uttermost depths.
It wakes the coiled cold
from its hold on root
and tentative rosette,
draws down the hawks and crows,
entices the fox, and explains
the sudden absence of mice in the house.
The world is hungry,
sheep huddle in the barn,
and the rain slices thin slivers of air
that cut like broken glass.
We prowl, voiceless and sleepless,
empty fields, looking for a sign
that these dark times are relenting.
Jane Dougherty Writes 
Oh, now I see the absent mice! 🙂
Yes, same words and different tone!
How are your mice doing? Prospering, or have you caught any?
My husband is in charge of trap checking. I haven’t seen or heard anything, but they are probably still here . . .
I like the idea of the traps that trap but don’t kill. The problem in town is where do you take them to let them go? Given that they can chew their way through the plastic in a few hours!
The one time I caught a mouse the cats were torturing, I just took it outside and let it go. I wasn’t sure that it was alive, but as soon as it hit the ground, it went scampering off. 🙂
Mice are cuter than we think. I’ve seen voles play dead when Trixie has caught them. If they don’t move the cat sometimes loses interest. As soon as she stalked off, the vole up and ran.
I suppose it works sometimes for those creatures. 😊
Seems to 🙂
Such a sad and dark time of year..you captured it so well 💜
Thanks Willow 🙂
Unrelenting. That’s how it feels anyway. (K)
There’s such a small temperature range that we’re comfortable in. Doesn’t take much to make us huddle indoors.