I have the most ridiculous poem to share. Or at least, it feels ridiculous. Yesterday morning, as I was crossing an intersection on my way to go get coffee, a rat was crossing the same intersection going the other way.
I kid you not.
A big one too.
It was the most ridiculous thing. I hate rats. They scare the s$!t out of me. As I described the encounter to others later, I couldn’t think of a better word to use than “a dance”.
A dance with a life lesson attached… maybe?
Anyway, here it is.
Happy Friday!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DANCE?
A rat and I
did a dance
this morning
across the lines
of a well-traveled
crosswalk.
Yes, an actual rat.
Yes, I’m still recovering.
He was
on his way
somewhere
just like me.
(maybe he needed
some coffee too)
He was so
focused, so
determined,
so completely
unfazed
by this
giant person
coming near
with her dangerously
pointy heels.
I don’t know
who saw who
first…
I don’t know
who feared who
first…
But at some point
we began the dance:
shifting left,
then right,
then left again…
trying so hard
to separate
yet strangely
pulled together anyway.
It was an
unexpected dance
by two VERY
unwilling partners.
For a moment,
despite cars whizzing by
we danced:
the giant human
and
the tiny rat,
both filled with fear
of the other
and yet
both filled with
unknown power
over the other.
How often,
Lord,
do I engage
in this dance?
How often,
Lord,
do I shift left,
then right,
then left again
to avoid something
(or someone)
I fear.
How often,
Lord,
does something
(or someone)
do the same dance
for the same reasons
with me?
I caught myself
laughing
right out loud
in spite of myself
once the “danger”
had past.
Oh how ridiculous
the dance
must have looked
to onlookers.
Oh how ridiculous
the dance really is.
© 2022, Gretchen Crowder
