A Rat Takes A Stand Poem by John Sensele

A rat burrowed his way into a decrepit mud hut where he swerved into a corner
Eyes rolling in his fear laden head by hunger, harassment and thirst
Despair pumping adrenaline throughout frayed veins for three seconds
The rat panted and slumped into a corner.

Bereft of options and ideas, the rat rummaged for a refuge as thunder roared and lightning flashed
Eyes darting from left to right on a red clay floor at high speed
The rat's popping eyes spied a hole concealed in a corner where rain water dripped and plonked
The rat labored to widen its mouth of the hole into which it slid and fell with a thud.

All of a sudden, a gargantuan pick chizelled through the hole boundary
Bulldozing the earthen and wooden masonry as if an earthquake had struck
Then with bated breath, the rat pounced on a gem of an idea
Draw a line in the sand: the die was cast.

Wrath rose by leaps and bounds, wrath choked the rat's parched throat
He'd scrammed for ten minutes. He'd rammed his fate insane
But the man in muddy boots and a pick lobbed every missile in his arsenal
As the predator 's hand closed in on him vice like, the rat's incisors drew first blood.