mmmdccclxxvii

The Accidental Hamster

What a mug on
that one! Although,
I suppose that faces
say a lot of things
they’re not. Like
Do not step one
more foot toward
me! or, especially,
Love me because I
am lovable. Those
are just two examples,
but you get the picture.
And so I tread carefully,
and only in my head.
But I’m so drawn to
those big circular ears
pointed right at me
and rising like two
big pink moons from
the fuzzy clay-colored
surface of some faraway
planet. Where you do not
want to run low on here is
oxygen. I know this well.
It’s just picture perfect. Yet
it’s a face that could set off
a million alarms, this one.
Sure, those eyes are so ad
orably open that they’re
ovular in a vertical way,
but you don’t know what
they’re really looking at
or what inevitably cruel
thoughts lie behind them.
Even though you can
practically feel their
gaze. Right at your
heart, you can.
But in that same
heart, your own
heart of hearts,
you know.
You know
that the
most likely
of likelies is
that they’re
scouring this
godforsaken
countryside for
a bite to eat. And
of course. Because
look around. There’s
nothing else here. I
mean, the only thing
standing between
that rat and the
rest of the uni
verse is me.