Parable of the Blacklight Rat
16 January 2k11
This poem is for all of us who have been raked over the coals by the Universe. This one is for the down-hearted, the down-trodden, the down-on-their-luck, and the down-for-the-count. This is for those forever alone. This is for the outcast and for the untouchables. This is for those who endlessly toil that others may eat and be warm. This is for we who have been tempered in the fire of pain, depression, and trauma only to rise stronger for it.
When Death comes for you, when fighting and fleeing are futile,
remember the Blacklight Rat, and decide how you shall greet the Reaper.
For mortal though we be, our souls are eternal and free…
~*~
Parable of the Blacklight Rat
i.
As a teenrager, infected with
an acute outbreak of angst,
there hung above my bed
a blacklight poster portraying
in vivid-violet hues
the last great act
of defiance by a doomed Rat:
Standing lonely on a bleak cliff,
bathed in moonlight, is Rat.
Meanwhile, plummeting down upon him
from its cold aerie of starlit stone,
comes the feather-swoop of a hunter deadly—
Eagle plunging out of the indigo night.
Ill-fated, foreseeing no salvation
other than to go out with his boots on.
Rat elects to spend his last moment
standing defiant in the face of Death,
by flipping his executioner the finger.
ii.
Undaunted by the Scourge of Small Things:
cool grimness seen in a slight sneer
wrinkling his whiskered mug;
that steely-eyed little Rat
gave the bird the bird.
Such insolence, such obstinate
disdain for the Reaper’s raptor,
an ornithologically ordained
messenger of Winged Death itself…
well, surely this audacious outrage
shall echo to the very end of time.
Such six-gun-man-with-no-name bravura,
such contemptuous courage,
such nobility noir,
forever warms the darkest corners
of my own rodent heart.
~D.C. McKenzie
—end transmission—
Dawn Runs Amok 
Thanks, Don. Sometimes you just know what to say. Nice work.
January at 4:54 pm
You’re most welcome, Bill. Thank you! I consider you to be among those who tirelessly toil, without acclaim, for the sake of our society.
Please keep up the outstanding work over at CA. You are truly shining a light on what THEY would rather remain wrapped in darkness…
January at 6:24 pm
Very nicely done Brother! Thank You.
January at 3:03 am
Many Thanks, my Brother! It’s an inspiration and an honor to personally know a spirit so tenacious as you.
Hear this folks:
Here is one who faced the Reaper, and was forged anew.
Not only did he stand defiant; but, against all odds, he survived to tell the tale.
January at 6:41 pm
Dawn thank you so much for the kind words. Now it’s my turn. It’s you my Brother who is inspirational! With your adaptability, Raven like cunning, and the tenacity of the Wolverine you my friend show us the way! You are the beacon in the darkness, and despair of a thing called neglect. Not intentionally are we neglected of course, but life is just so busy you know. We don’t take it personally, but rather accept it at face value. It’s an honor to call you friend. Love & Light…
January at 2:43 pm
I had that same poster when I was a teenager! I refer to it now when I give lectures on existentialism.
August at 6:35 pm
very well done…..
August at 3:09 pm