Rats
As a toddler I grew up in my
Grandparents ancestral house
Large house with several rooms
Sloping red tiled roof
Semi dark, even during mid day
Located in the centre of vast estate
With reddish gravely soil
Horizontal terrain with several elevational layers
House encircled by tall trees of
Coconuts, Jackfruits, mangoes, bananas
Tamarind, papaya, pepper creepers
Such large house occupied by only
Four human beings
Myself, grandparents and a servant maid
House was infested with
Reptiles, lizards, small crawling snakes
Cockroaches, spiders, squirrels, frogs
Millipedes, centipedes, cats, kitten and rats
Black bats flying and clinging to ceiling, heads down
Best place for zoological research
House was surrounded by foxes, dogs, butterflies
Fluttering between flowers
Big poisonous snakes
Cows, goats and mongoose
Crows, chicken, woodcutters, owls
Cooing doves on red tile roofs
Ground filled up with
Dry leaves fell from trees
Every day when the dawn strikes
I could see solar rays
Fresh after a night sleep
Penetrating through tall trunks of trees
My grandfather used to offer prayers
To Sun God, standing erect
By folding palms facing rising sun
Same time, sitting in our north side verandah
I used to help my grandmother
Killing rats
Trapped in wooden boxes
My grandmother was
House hold totalitarian
She had unfathomable affection towards me
Rats were menace to our food grains
Stored in large wooden granaries
Clock of my grandmother’s life
Stopped when she was only Sixty
And when I was only Ten
Memories about her and rats killed
Still after six decades lingers in my mind
**************
Last three decades I live in a pent house
Located on Fourteenth floor of a residential apartment
My tower is very close to an International Airport.
After retirement, I sit in my balcony
And watch busy aircrafts landing and taking off
Recently I noticed my neighbour Dr.Krish
Standing in his balcony holding a glass casket
A struggling, black creature was inside the box
Dr.Krish was head of zoology department
In University located in our city
Out of curiosity I asked him
“What is that doctor? ”
“A rat”
“Where did you get it? ”
“From a village in North Malabar
My research assistant who hails
From that village brought it
We are preparing thesis on
Rats, mouses and bandicoots “
Rat held inside could not be from my
Ancestral home in North Malabar
My old house of grandparents and tall trees were
Bulldozed long back for
Construction of luxurious resorts
Meant for foreigners and their currency.
P.M.CHANDRASEKHARAN
poem by Chandra sekharan
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Related quotes
Night Runners Competition Counted
we enjoy counting the rats
running around at night,
when we are arriving home
on our faithful motorbike,
usually two or three rats to see,
Kayla and I have a competition
counting first spied rats we see,
who can spot local drain rats first
the biggest rats seen truthfully
are as big as healthy pet cats,
we go look at pets frequently
in BSD once a week we peep,
in at a pet shop when we watch,
a movie in expedition BSD every week
a family movie is a special treat,
our two happy daughters think it so neat
our neigbour concreted over their open drain
next door rats love their drains seldom stray,
so less rats outside rats too close we do disdain
rats who venture close in life peril cannot stay,
if any bold rats venture into our house ceiling,
these rats are disposed of poisoned very quickly
our rule is no entry for any rats poison strictly,
tropical rat best learn trespass has no pity feeling.
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Astonishing Forest
Where the house filled with living
The house continuously giving
Where the house filled with nature
The house filled with adventure
Anything can survive
With the nature it provides
Where the house filled with grass
The house filled with hedges, bushes and plants
Canopy trees be it rain or shine
Will be there for you at any time
Where the green house filled with fresh air
Will shelter you in the heavy rain
O the house of beauty
O the house of sound
So much variety is yet to be found
poem by Sehar Zaman
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Rats For Neighbors
Rats scramble across the floor,
making loud noises like never before.
They are in the attic having a fun time,
they are nesting together they know it’s Christmastime.
Wind blows and they huddle together,
they are smart, they know better.
Rats lived in the back house and now they are in the front,
if they are of the same family I’m out of luck.
They are from Europe and they are die hards at that,
they will want to stay in a house not a flat.
poem by Christina Sunrise
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Dead Leaves
dead leaves are scattered everywhere
under the trees
surrounding this old house where we live
unswept and piling up like some layers
of our memories
some rotten some cracking some turning to dust
the snakes learn to hide there
making their home
and some worms and some rats and some seeds
begin to sprout
when it begins to rain again
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Song for a Little House
I'M glad our house is a little house,
Not too tall nor too wide:
I'm glad the hovering butterflies
Feel free to come inside.
Our little house is a friendly house.
It is not shy or vain;
It gossips with the talking trees,
And makes friends with the rain.
And quick leaves cast a shimmer of green
Against our whited walls,
And in the phlox, the dutious bees
Are paying duty calls.
poem by Christopher Morley
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A House for Four
A house for four
What is it? a house for four
A dingy looking thing
Are there windows? none
What is it? a house for four
Such a palace
Are there greetings? none
What is it? a house for four
Why the space is so small
Is there privacy? none
What is it? a house for four
A dozen creeps could be creeping there
Is there any trust? none
Don't judge me for mine
Poor fool i wont
Even give you the time
Are you judging me?
Your quite the choir
With a cracking voice
And
A tall house that falls
To scrutiny
A house for four and
A house for four
A people of choir and
A people of poor
Do you not recognize
The stains are yours?
A house is not a house
Unless there is more
More and more
Sometimes less is more
poem by Deci Hernandez
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Past a house
We yesterday
drove past a house
near a shopping centre
and at the front wall
the plaster was broken,
the garden that was something
at a time
was treaded to pieces
and left uncared.
The front door hanged decaying
and when my eyes
walked down the corridor
some of the ceiling was missing,
and the wooden floor
was being used for firewood
It seemed as if the house
was now really becoming a ruin
and a naked black toddler
were crawling outside
and a very thin dog
looked as if it never got food
and my darling said:
“We stayed here at a time
and once this house
belonged to us
and it was a beautiful place
and just see how it looks now.”
poem by Gert Strydom
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Pagan Place
Jer Bear and Mikey Mouse,
smoked pot in Pagan house.
Pagan house had bugs inside,
and rats that crawled the sides,
now this is where I used to reside.
Spider woman lived below me
with clothes black and white,
and Top Dog in front house
blasting radio into the night.
It was the Pagan House with
Stories that were a disgrace,
it was a weird and crazy place.
My pup Shieka was stolen on
The sidewalk,
across from the table where
I used to talk…to Lu Lu who
told me a thing or two.
Luckily Sheikee my new pup
showed up,
Just that week,
she was shy and meek.
These were my best memories,
on Ocean Breeze.
Written by Christina Sunrise on Feb.7,2011
poem by Suzae Chevalier
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Pagan Place
Jer Bear and Mikey Mouse,
smoked pot in Pagan house.
Pagan house had bugs inside,
and rats that crawled the sides,
now this is where I used to reside.
Spider woman lived below me
with clothes black and white,
and Top Dog in front house
blasting radio into the night.
It was the Pagan House with
Stories that were a disgrace,
it was a weird and crazy place.
My pup Shieka was stolen on
The sidewalk,
across from the table where
I used to talk…to Lu Lu who
told me a thing or two.
Luckily Sheikee my new pup
showed up,
Just that week,
she was shy and meek.
These were my best memories,
on Ocean Breeze.
Written by Christina Sunrise on Feb.7,2011
poem by Christina Sunrise
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The Houses
1898 -- A Song of the Dominions
'Twixt my house and thy house the pathway is broad,
In thy house or my house is half the world's hoard;
By my house and thy house hangs all the world's fate,
On thy house and my house lies half the world's hate.
For my house and thy house no help shall we find
Save thy house and my house -- kin cleaving to kind;
If my house be taken, thine tumbleth anon.
If thy house be forfeit, mine followeth soon.
'Twixt my house and thy house what talk can there be
Of headship or lordship, or service or fee?
Since my house to thy house no greater can send
Than thy house to my house -- friend comforting friend;
And thy house to my house no meaner can bring
Than my house to thy house -- King counselling King.
poem by Rudyard Kipling
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A House Without Stairs
do not say
that without the stairs
the house is not a house anymore
without the ceiling
the more the house becomes to me
take the roof
if you want
or the beams
or even the floor and window frames
my house will still be a house
the sky its roof
the stretching grassy plain its floor
all the stars become
my magnificent ceiling
whatever is taken
we must imagine that all things are still there
lest we only have a house
that crashes on the floor
with all of us
dead
crushed to the death of
our imaginations
a door without an exit
because you have not seen hope coming
the lock and key
are all in the mind and heart
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Black House On The Corner
I passed by that house everday,
wondering what lurked inside of it,
was their some kind of ancient evil inside,
or a normal family that we never saw,
a house of macarbe,
it was painted black like the devil's sin,
it was surrouned by devilish-looking,
figures that stood outside on the line,
was also surrounded by a black pointed fence,
rumors of the devil himself living there,
the devil in the flesh,
satan living on my street corner,
The black house on the corner,
can't you see it,
you must walk past it everyday to,
dosen't your mind wander,
when you walk by The black house,
don't you to know what lays inside of the house,
maybe a ton of dead bodies under the floor boards,
a madman butcherd up his family,
could that be true,
or are our young minds racing again,
with impure and insane thoughts about,
who or what lives in the black house on the corner,
the black house,
painted with the devil's sin,
We were told to stay away from the black house,
that so many evils lived inside of it,
but us being kids we didn't want to live,
we wanted to see what was inside of the black house on the corner,
But we are to afraid to go forward,
we are to afraid to step through the gate,
and walk up the beaten path to the door bell,
it looks so old and so evil,
The black house on the corner,
we shall never know what evilness,
or what macabre force resides within,
the black house on the corner,
whatever you do,
don't go into the black house on the corner,
stay away from,
the black house on the corner,
it holds so many evils,
the black house on the corner,
poem by Robert Rumery
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The House with Nobody in It
Whenever I walk to Suffern along the Erie track
I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.
I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute
And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.
I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;
That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.
I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do;
For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.
This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,
And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.
It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;
But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.
If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid
I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.
I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be
And I'd find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.
Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,
Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.
But there's nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone
For the lack of something within it that it has never known.
But a house that has done what a house should do,
a house that has sheltered life,
That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,
A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and held up his stumbling feet,
Is the saddest sight, when it's left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.
So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track
I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,
Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,
For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart.
poem by Joyce Kilmer
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House Of Jazz
Humdinger
Bell ringer
Got a nasty stinger
To slow you down
Mud slinger
Gold digger
Who point the finger
And do you down
Kickin' and a fightin' on a TV show
Lightin' blindin' in the middle of the road
Are you comin' in
Are you comin' in
I said come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Ball stripper
Big tipper
Got a slap 'n' tickler
To make you growl
Spitin' and bitin' on a TV show
Tightenin' frightenin' givin' out a load
Are you comin' in
Are you comin' in
I said come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Are you comin' in
Come on in
Are you comin' in
Are you comin' in
I said come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Are you comin' in
Are you comin' in
I said into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
The house of jazz
song performed by by AC/DC from Stiff Upper Lip
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sestina
September rain falls on the house.
In the failing light, the old grandmother
sits in the kitchen with the child
beside the Little Marvel Stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking to hide her tears.
She thinks that her equinoctial tears
and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac,
but only known to a grandmother.
The iron kettle sings on the stove.
She cuts some bread and says to the child,
It's time for tea now; but the child
is watching the teakettle's small hard tears
dance like mad on the hot black stove,
the way the rain must dance on the house.
Tidying up, the old grandmother
hangs up the clever almanac
on its string. Birdlike, the almanac
hovers half open above the child,
hovers above the old grandmother
and her teacup full of dark brown tears.
She shivers and says she thinks the house
feels chilly, and puts more wood in the stove.
It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.
I know what I know, says the almanac.
With crayons the child draws a rigid house
and a winding pathway. Then the child
puts in a man with buttons like tears
and shows it proudly to the grandmother.
But secretly, while the grandmother
busies herself about the stove,
the little moons fall down like tears
from between the pages of the almanac
into the flower bed the child
has carefully placed in the front of the house.
Time to plant tears, says the almanac.
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove
and the child draws another inscrutable house.
poem by Elizabeth Bishop
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Stranger In The House
We dont talk much
We dont make love like we used to
And I stay guarded
Ive got walls and triggers
I never thought I had
And so do you
But this is love
And thats the way we seem content to play it
I touch your clothes when youre gone
I let your scent wash over me
You cry at night and you wish just like a child
That we were how we used to be
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
And she looks like somebody from a lifetime ago
I stonewall you, you stonewall me
But we both know that
Hiding deep inside us
Lives the love that we try hard to lose
And never will
But this is war
And thats the way we seem content to fight it
I get so angry and confused cause
I want out but I want you
You cant decide between moving out or moving in
You dont know what to do
With a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
And she looks like you
And he looks like me
Is this the same girl that, I fought so hard to win
And now I fight to lose her
Now I feel that its just like skin to skin
And nerve to nerve
Strung out like wire
Is that the way we are content to live
We face off in anger
In rooms once filled with love
Looking for a chink in the armour
Where we can stab the blade
What are we thinking of
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
And she looks like somebody from a lifetime ago
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
Theres a stranger in the house
In the house
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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House Of Jazz
(young - young)
Humdinger
Bell ringer
Got a nasty stinger
To slow you down
Mud slinger
Gold digger
Who point the finger
And do you down
Kickin and a fightin on a tv show
Lightin blindin in the middle of the road
Are you comin in
Are you comin in
I said come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz, yes
Ball stripper
Big tipper
Got a slap n tickler
To make you growl
A spitin and bitin on a tv show
Tightenin frightenin givin out a load
Are you comin in
Are you comin in
I said come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Are you comin in
Come on in
Are you comin in
Are you comin in
I said come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
Are you comin in
Are you comin in
I said into the house of jazz
Come into the house of
Come into the house of
Come into the house of jazz
The house of jazz
2000, j. albert & son, pty.
song performed by by AC-DC
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Every House
Every house has a sun and moon,
And a little porcelain cup,
And a little silver spoon;
Every house has laughter and pain,
And feels the kiss of a needed rain.
Every house has a pet or two,
A cat in the tree,
A dove that coo;
Every house has a little mouse,
Lives in a hole he never comes out.
Every house has a window or two,
And some grass and trees,
And a sky that's blue;
Every house has a child that dreams,
As he plucks at raw reality's seams.
poem by Patti Masterman
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the last poem for Ramon
from a long trip
he arrived home
feverish,
he said he needed
rest
a very long rest
in the ancestral house
of his father
where the trees are
old and tall
where the air is
refreshing
where the silence
is abundant
for he is tired
and wants to have
his much needed rest
it was too late for him
to know that he has
stage 4
for lung cancer
for which he succumbed
in his death bed
yesterday morning
in the ancestral house of
his father
his home away from
home now
away from wife
and his three children
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Mr. Slithers
Lying quietly by the fire
Mr. Slithers showed no care
Warm and cosy was he
With no concerns about eternity.
Once he had made a big mistake when
He emerged too early from his den
And lay out on the warm tamarack
Straight as an arrow was his back.
The suns heat was enough to cause
Him to sleep and forget Nature's laws.
For when the sun went down
So did his temperature without a sound.
And there he lay
Till next day
When Ben happened by
And found Mr. Slithers in death's grip nigh.
Picking him up by his tail
Ben deposited him in the pail
That he used to take trash outside
This time he had something of value to bring inside.
For Mr. Slithers was well known
As a black snake that would be just at home
Living in a warm house all his days
Crawling about in snake-like ways.
As he warmed and slowly moved about there
He began to wonder what food was here.
And he discovered that Ben had provided
(But not to his intention it should be noted.)
A bountiful supply of mice and rats
Who live here with Ben and his dog and cats.
So Mr. Slithers took on the task
That would ensure the rodents would see their last
And he helped to rid the house then and there
Of those interlopers that did dare
To invade the house on the country lane
Where Ben lived in comfort, though quite plain.
Of course ridding the house of these pest
Would seem to mean that future meals would be less
But Nature provides an endless supply
Of rodents that come in from outside on the sly.
So Mr. Slithers was assured that his next meal
Was going to be there from the cotton field.
But Mr. Slithers had another
Job which he was expected to shoulder.
For you see Ben's house was without
Locks on the doors to keep intruders out.
So he was expected to provide
Security against those who tried
To steal into Ben's home and take away
Things that Ben saved for another day.
Soon it became known country wide
That within the house a snake was known to hide
And that was quite enough to ensure
That no one entered who had thoughts impure.
(At least when Ben and his dog were away.)
So if you should happen to see
A large black snake merrily
Racing across the yard,
Perhaps its Mr. Slithers on guard.
Or one of his offspring
Who reappear with spring.
poem by Sidi J. Mahtrow
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