A rat stood on his hinds, in grass
between sidewalk and street,
gazing up with one eye it asked:
"Should I run? Stay here, delay
and sacrifice my final breath to you?"

Surprised at this spectacle of nature
one can only think that it was sick
or stricken by fear at this chance encounter
though something in that static eye spoke
of many lives over millions of years.

Moving on, it stared at this passing
as though it was meant to happen
forever in just this way with little fanfare
and no interruption of the moment
as two fixed as one endured recognition.

-cec