Amos: A view from under the pew

link Amos the Church Mouse

Illustrated by Gary Mitchell

Editor’s note: Amos is a churchmouse, who types by hopping on the computer keyboard keys, but he can’t operate the capital shift, and he shuns punctuation marks – except dashes and hyphens.

freddie flea s loving dad

boss have i told you how

freddie flea became reunited

with his father question mark

here you remember freddie

has had a rather dismal past

freddie s father waited lovingly

and patiently for his son

to come to his senses – just

like the biblical prodigal

it seems like only yesterday

that freddie the flea changed

his ways but sometimes it s

good to remind ourselves

from whence we came

i showed freddie what i penned

about him several years ago

it went sorta like this -

boss i ran into despair

yesterday freddie flea was

lying in a heap next

to the garbage can

looky here he says to me

the symbol of my life

he pointed with a shaky hand

to the rusty can i could write

a book on how to snarf and

hook from under the pan

sounds bad says i what do

you mean everything says he

life is dead he said when a

bug is headstrong to go on the

road - a rosebed it ain t he said

and dropped his head

but why says i to the runaway

did you fly away in the first place

i ll tell you says he i ran

away for me to live and be free

but you said i said

i know what i said he said

life on the street is death

there s no place for a breath

of fresh air anywhere

then why not come upstairs

says i where there s cool air

and fair skies

how can that be says he

it s a matter of redirecting

your focus says i

no hocus-pocus

if ya wanna find real life

look to the creator of life

only he can abolish strife

and boss that s when

freddie saw the light and

came out of his dark night

and met jesus as his savior –

his lord and white knight –

after years spent in riotous

living with a flea circus

freddie knew he needed

to go back home and put

an end to his dismal roaming

but says he what will my

father say – i ve said some

ugly things mean and nasty

things i ve told him i didn t

love him and i wanted to

live life my way without his

getting in the way

oh i ve been a miserable

excuse for a son i can t go

home i need to stay on the

run and live life on the roam

surely your dad understands

says me to the flea who ran

why don t you give it a try

buck up and make a stand

before the man

i wish i could says he to me

life was good for me there

in the family – but i was too

selfish too haughty to care

for them or anybody

just go says me and see

what god does for you

and he – but be sure to

go in repentance and

humility

i will says he you ll see

i ll make life better for

him and me – i won t have

to come back as a son you see –

i ll simply be his slave for the

rest of my life and eternity

boss that s what freddie did – he

went back home but his father

didn t take him back as a flea-slave

but as his son his pride and joy

and just like god the loving father

freddie s father hugged and kissed

him and said welcome home boy

amos