Tuesday Poem - Metamorphosis by Paul South

Metamorphosis

I am the rat these days, inspecting this, having a nibble of that.

Disguised as a human, I go to work.

“How are you?” says my boss.

“Fine,” I say.

I have learned the turns of speech, digested talk of news, sport and

weather. Rats have strong stomachs and are very adaptable. But a rat

never forgets his place in the food-chain. The hand that feeds can also kill.

Sometimes I step into a trap. My boss's huge face looms around

the corner, says “What are you doing?” and I'm caught there in the

spotlight, a crumb still hanging from my mouth. I try to speak, but all

that comes out is a muffled squeak! My body goes limp, as if dead -

I think I am dead – then after a while she goes off again.

Then I go home, to the dark little corner of my world. It's nothing special,

but it's my dark corner, and I am quite happy with it thank you! But even

then my mind plays tricks on me; I hear things, a footstep, a word. I am

never really alone: I'm always being chased by things that I cannot see or

name. And there is no hiding from the fact that, sooner or later, I will have

to go out there again, into the open. I have to if I am going to survive.

My poor heart! I scurry about right under their noses, filling shelves,

collecting trolleys. This check out chick keeps checking me out. I squeak

a few words. I don't know what to do. I keep thinking, they'll see me -

they'll see the light reflect off my eyes and know me for what I am.

But they never do.

Time moves on. I get so caught up in what I am doing that I forget what

I am, and then I find myself being patted by somebody. I look up and

wonder how it is that I am here, that I am not afraid, here in the palm of

a human's hand.

Paul South lives in Melbourne and I have heard him read from his 'wise
and brutal' book (as Andy Jackson puts it in his blurb) – Rats Live On
No Evil Star. Lovely stuff, juicy.

You can pick up the book (a wise but not brutal investment) at a few shops
in Melbourne,like Collected Works – and there is an email address in the
front of the book so I suppose that would work too.

bigbillsblues@hotmail.com

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