amos the churchmouse:

a view from under the pew

Editor’s note: Amos is a churchmouse who types by hurling himself at the keys, but he can’t use the capital shift keys, and he shuns punctuation marks – except dashes and hyphens.

amos faces hot dry summer

boss after two days of
sweltering heat red-hot
sidewalks and blistered
little mousy feet i have
decided that winter must
be over and i have put away
my mittens galoshes and
fuzzy russian hat

to top it off boss the
church s air conditioner
doesn t work  the whole
church pew underworld is
facing a minor crisis
bugs are falling over
like flies and flies are
falling over and dying
like bugs only the goldfish
and the earthworms seem
to like the hot weather
the rest of us run from one
lawn sprinkler to another

that s okay boss but
you have to watch
out for renegade
lawn mowers

one miserable day when
my whiskers were sweating
hot water drops  i  stumbled
into cami chameleon who was
trying desperately to be a tree

hey says me you can t be a
tree you re a four-legged
creature like me

yes i can said she
look at me change
from a green tree to
the blue sea i ve got
great color range

so i see says me but
what good does it do
to change yourself from
green to blue especially
when the sun is hot the
breeze is shot the shade s
a dot and cool we re not

oh you re funny says
she turning herself the
color of ivy leaves
but don t you see
everything works out
so perfectly

no i don t see says me
all i know is how dry
and hot i be

but think of all the fun
you can have in the sun -
sailing swimming or go
for a run take a walk in
the park or tan till you re
dark don t you see what
i mean says she turning
herself back to green

sure it works for you
says me watching her
turn to blue because you re
wishy-washy through and
through you change on a
dime to whatever you find  
being around you just
blows my mind

cami just laughed boss and
said that may be true but
that s the best way for me
to do what i ve gotta do
you see for me to move and
live day after day i ve got
to look for the positive
the good in every thing and
every way that makes life
richer fuller and fair as
a rose in may

boss the more i think about
it i think cami s right
she s found the secret that
the apostle paul wrote about
in philippians four-eleven
quotes here boss - for i have
learned  in whatsoever state
i am  therewith to be content -
end quotes

so here s to the hot happy but
contented life in christ boss
may your days be golden
and your cheese unmolden

amos