'Virtuous Vermin'

You're were the mouse in the manor

expecting only crumbs

Trained by emotional misers

to take whatever comes

The table was laid for a feast

while you hid underneath

You'd offer your soul for a smile

but saw only bared teeth

There were warm fires and cozy beds

but you languished on stones

They consumed the heart you gave

sucked the marrow from your bones

Instead of being who you were

you did what you were told

They basked in your glowing kindness

and left you in the cold

© Osquer Campbell 11 November 2026 🌞❤️🌻

#poetry #poem #poeme