Jasper the Inside Mouse

October 23, 2017

O! Jasper is an inside mouse
whose universe is in this house.
So if you say, “Let’s go outside.”
Jasper’s instinct is to hide.

And if you say, “Let’s seize the day!”
Jasper simply runs away.
He loves to travel far and wide
as long as he can stay inside.

(It seems he’s happy in his house,
for Jasper is an inside mouse.)

So when his friends leave to wander
and saunter and roam…
Jasper, dear Jasper, stays right at home.

And while they enjoy the hustle and bustle
of the city’s outdoor markets…
Jasper explores the borders
of the oriental carpets.

While they breathe the ghastly fumes
of omnibuses and roaring trucks,
Jasper sips a cup of tea
beneath the central heating ducts.

And while they scale the icy summits
of windswept Alpine peaks,
Jasper gnaws the wooden legs
of priceless antiques.

Whatever it is they’re doing,
Jasper has no interest in it.
It’s clear he’s happier where he is,
sleeping soundly in the spinnet.

O, tell us, Jasper, is the sky outside bright blue?
Or has it now a cloudy hue?
The truth is Jasper little cares.
He’s found some cheese beneath the stairs.

Is the moon a pale, white sliver?
Or is it yellow, full and round?
Jasper doesn’t give a fig;
he’s eating chocolates by the pound.

No matter how they tempt him,
and no matter what they say,
Jasper likes it where he is
– at least just for today.

O! Someday Jasper might go outside,
and someday leave his happy home,
and someday wander far and wide,
beneath the sky’s vast azure dome.

And someday he’ll travel
And see great sights
And take dozens of dangerous
airplane flights!

And someday he’ll visit the Acropolis in Athens
and the Colosseum in Rome!
And he’ll write glorious postcards
about starfish and seafoam!

But just for today,
only for today,
merely for today,
Jasper, dear Jasper, wants to be left alone!