Who are we?

Who are we?
Five, hidden by shadows
In a dimly lit room,
We shuffle away.

In cold steel cages
We cringe,
The familiar smell of death.

It comes closer and closer,
We shuffle to the corner,
We know what is about to happen,
The same old story.

A hand reaches in,
Grasps one of us,
Fighting for his life,
Howling, screeching, kicking,
Slowly he lost his will.

We knew it,
He knew it,
The poor guy was going to die.

The needle
Long and sharp
Plunged in.

A silent scream,
His last statement,
Then slowly, so slowly,
His soul slipped away.

Too much, the man said out aloud,
We'll have to try it again.
Muttering to himself
He swept out of the room.

A mistake,
An error,
A life taken away.

And what for?
Humans, yes them,
But what about us?

We may be insignificant,
Tools for your experiment,
But how would you like it,
A life with no cause?

The same old story,
One by one.

Who are we?
We are mice.

Joon Lynn Goh, year 9, Vermont VIC