It’s a familiar sight, that is my ceiling,
When I wake in the night with a familiar feeling;
A sense of worry and a cloud of dread,
From the rat in my mind, scratching my head.

I do my best to ignore or pretend,
But sadly for me this rat’s my best friend,
He warns of a busy brain, with bad times ahead,
Caused by words unspoken and things unsaid.

He nags at joy, and cherishes sorrow-
And makes you fear the start of tomorrow.
The rat never lacks devotion,
And can turn drops of doubt into an ocean.

I hope you don’t know the scratch and the chew,
Of drifting through life, not knowing what to do-
With that gnawing rat that keeps persisting,
That you’re not living your life, but just existing.

I wish this rat wasn’t so well fed,
Cos when I see my friends he’s there in my stead.
They think that I’m angry, grumpy and mean;
But I wish they knew that I’m not what I seem.

It’s gone on so long that I’m starting to think;
That he’ll never stop and he’ll never blink.
I feel it always, in my skull where he’s sat;
The doubts in my mind, in the shape of a rat.