Clade Song 12 left

Clade Song 12

Ode to Rats

I think rats are tender
as loaves of bread. Pattering cupboards,
their ballpoint pink noses
shiver with fruity pleasure.

Leaping through gardens, they chew
grasshoppers or crisps of okra.
Woodpile gnomes, sewer goblins,
I admire their dashing pills.

Their whiskers sweep alleys
like blind wizards nibbling runic crumbs.
Lab rats average over 10 ounces,
the weight of a human heart.

Some say people should be warriors
and chuck pity for power. I say
the world is nursed by the softness of rats
I love more than my eyes.

 
Clade Song 12 Right

Eric Fisher Stone is a poet and writing tutor from Fort Worth, Texas. He received his MFA in creative writing and the environment from Iowa State University. His publications include two full length poetry collections: The Providence of Grass, published by Chatter House Press in 2018, and Animal Joy, published by WordTech Editions in 2021. He thinks all animals are cute, including rats, snakes, and slugs. His Twitter handle is @cutejavelinas, where you can follow him.

 

 

 

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