Mighty Master-Rat Poem by Sally Baerie

Mighty Master-Rat



In response to:
Well, tell me, what is justice? The mighty build a wall
Of laws that lend them safety, they have both rank and gold,
Of stolen goods the owners, they plot how to enthrall
Still more all those whose toiling has made them rich, to hold
In complete subjection, their labour, life, their all.

I've told Aloysius I can't sleep with the rats
Aloysius says we don't have rats
He hasn't seen any yet
He's a firm believer in the
'don't fix anything until you've been told at least 17 times that it's broken' policy.
We're working on telling him as often as possible
I can see one of the rats
Jasmin and I
We can see Him
I've jumped on to the table
I'm screaming climbing on to a chair screaming then on to the kitchen table and then just to make sure He can't get me
I'm balancing on Fallopean's pile of homework
It's a bit slippery
I think I could be a gymnast
We did gymnastics a few years ago
I was at the level where you almost need to buy a leotard
Then the lady in charge thought it would be better if I tried something else
I’m up high but there are no winners and none higher in rank than the Rat
Natural law
Namely
The natural law that dictates I should fear
Lends Him safety
Fear has built a wall between us
Fallopean is grunting because I'm still wearing shoes
They're not too clean
They’re really comfy though
Old blue tattered with Velcro and holes in the top so the sock pattern peeps through
Jasmin is sorting out the Rat
She's throwing water on the floor from the kettle
We're going to boil Him alive
I'm going to watch and
Jasmin
She’s going to boil Him alive
The kettle is cold
It hasn't been boiled since yesterday and
The cold kettle water keeps missing the Rat
We are out of kettle water
Jasmin calls for Aloysius to put the kettle on
Aloysius is working on something very important
The level of importance of his activities increases exponentially with the number of times he is called
It takes a good quarter hour for him to put down the pencil and walk down the stairs
The Rat is gone
The law that applies to Him is not open to endless discussion and amendment initiatives
The Rat is gone
He's scuttled in behind the dishwasher
Fallopean is crying
Her copy is muddy
Jasmin is hungry
Aloysius is working
I am cooking
Somewhere
Above our heads
Underneath my feet
The Rat is scratching

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