And so, once again
I speak to you of the rat--
the bachelor rat--
who visits my garage.
He is a good rat,
even a fine one as rats go.
Never once has he lied to me
or tried to be anything
but what he is.
I feed him each evening
but tried to stop when the weather improved.
He came out and looked at me
as if to ask what had happened
and couldn't we overcome it?
I admire the rat.
He harbors no silent resentments.
He is who he is
all the time
and perhaps that is why he is alone.
I am alone also
and I am who I am, as the rat teaches.
I have a fine dog.
Many birds come to visit
and I feed this rat
rather than trying to kill him.
Goodnight, good sir.
I am grateful for your life
and my own.
___________
for Dverse Meeting the Bar.
Music: Leon Russell Stranger In A Strange Land
This is the best of your Mr. Rat series!
ReplyDeleteRats are intelligent creatures. I like the cut of your bachelor rat’s jib, Shay – he knows when he’s well off.
ReplyDeletethis encounter has such a splendid rationale!
ReplyDeleteI love his looking at you - cant we overcome it? It is like my friend's dogs who are used to me giving them treats, on the days when their owners say no. Haven't you forgotten something? I love hearing about your rat, likely one of the happiest in the neighbourhood.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem, Shay!
ReplyDeleteYvette M Calleiro :-)
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
A rat will never pretend to be anything else.... I am not sure I would be able to stomach such tolerance with a rodent.
ReplyDeleteI like this....original and wry....JIM
ReplyDeleteShips ... and rats ... that pass in the night, my friend? That and much more, I think. Life is precious. This poem breathes it through our lonely, evening pores. Your talent ever shines, Shay.
ReplyDeleteOf course I love the odes to Bachelor Rat on general principles, for all the reasons this poem gives and more, but I find this one particularly poignant, especially beginning with the third stanza. The analogy drawn between us and them, all those other living things caught in the cogs of the world's impervious juggernaut, is moving and immediate, and it is full of heart. A very fine poem, Shay.
ReplyDeleteAs hw said, we must honor that we are/are not Mr. Rat, and that we will feed the living things of the world, as we are those living things.
ReplyDelete