Editor’s note: With the start of the new year, Amos hasn’t been pleased with his appearance. It seems he’s getting older, but not necessarily better. Amos is a churchmouse, who types by hopping on the computer keyboard, but he can’t operate the capital shift keys, and he shuns punctuation marks – except dashes and hyphens.

amos fights his self-image

yesterday boss i struggled

to get out of my little

matchbox bed and when i

finally made it to the kitchen

sink to wash up I was in

for a rude awakening

someone had left a little

purple-and-pink-trimmed

hand mirror on the sink s edge

because i was watching

the edge so i wouldn t

fall in i didn t see the

hand mirror lying there

and i tripped over the

purple-and-pink trim

sprawling on my chubby

face and roley-poley

tummy my just-washed

whiskers got crumpled

and my tail dangled

awkwardly over the mirror

it was an ugly sight boss –

ugly in capital letters here –

it was one of those rare

moments when i came

face-to-face with myself

and i came to the realization

that i looked more like a candidate

for the bugtussle sewer brigade

than for the mousy who s who

of famous hack poetry

what a miserable specimen

of mousedom was i - i stared

at the hairy lumpy mass

that was me and i moaned

painfully – look at me this

can t be – frankenstein has

handsomer features than

me – oh woe is me – i wish

i were a tree or a ship on the

sea – anything but me

just then my best friend

freddie flea hopped

joyously by  hi there

amos whatcha doing 

staring at my pitiful

reflection says me

mournfully

why asks he haven t

you seen it previously

yes but not as grotesque

as this says me

yeah i see whatcha

mean – you re getting

more paunchy than lean

as i was dragging my

droopy mousy fur away

from the kitchen sink i

met another good friend

prayer virgil the praying

mantis who was watching

me with disapproval in his

big bulgy eyes

what – whatsa matter

with you says me

nothing s the matter with

me says he i was going to

ask you the same question

are you sure you wanna

talk to a big fat ugly

rodent like me says me

you re looking at you

all wrong says he

you re looking at the

outside when you ought

to be looking on the inside

don t you see

you re a new creature in

christ an heir of god and

joint-heir with jesus

you re seated with christ

in the heavenlies

you re god s workmanship

you re the salt and light of

the earth you have been made

righteous in him you ve been

redeemed and set free by his

blood for eternity

you re a child of the king

adopted into his family

you re free from condemnation

and cannot be separated from

his love – you re a saint

part of a chosen generation

a royal priesthood a holy

nation a peculiar people

in every thing you re more

than a conqueror through him

you ve been made a fragrance

of his knowledge everywhere

and you re a sweet-smelling

fragrance to god

and sure enough boss life

took on a holier lovelier smell

                                 amos