Mouse Problem

In the three winter days
we spent away from home,

two mice moved in. One I trapped
before quarantine. The other

laid low, then surprised us
by mid-March, leaving

his black rice in the corner
nearest the almond extract.

When I stayed at home all day,
I found I had the muscle

to pull out appliances
without waiting for the super.

The second mouse ran
from the oven, back into the guts

of our building. I packed
a gap in the baseboards

with chicken wire & feverishly
wiped greasy marks

from the wall. I wore my first
DIY t-shirt mask

as I fixed one problem,
mopping the floor.

HOLLY MITCHELL

Holly Mitchell is the author of Mare’s Nest, published by Sarabande Books in 2023. Her poems have appeared most recently in the journals Hood of Bone, Midnight Chem, and Yearling. Holly earned an MFA from New York University. She is from Kentucky and now lives in Brooklyn.