Population explosion

Rats strong ties, in which family survival lies

Infants nurtured with care by each parental pair 

A power structure cemented in place

Every rat knows another's face

Community peace, until numbers increase

It's a rat race, a world where all need space

Too many rats in a cage, red eyes filled with rage

With anxiety they shake, as fragile tempers break

Mother's and fathers eat young, order broken, high strung, 

Sick, weakened immunity in a lost community

Reviews

[emmajoygreen]

To experience the love of a large family is a gift, believe me. Yes, there is the misalignment of parenting, poverty and general situation BUT -

Rats should not be mentioned in the same space as human beings - it's an insult to both faith or choice. Yes, there are many situations that go completely the other way as the person below and your poem suggests. However, others know the other side of the 'story'

... an honest and happy opinion from one of seven.

[Soren]

Thank you for your review and comment it is definitely appreciated. The point of the poem is not against large families but of overpopulation. As for rats equated with people to me all living things are equal and I respect all life. We use rats to test drugs for human consumption assuming they are similar to us. I do not see it as an insult but a reality.

[RomaJ]

Soren, this is intense and vivid. I love how you show the fragility of community under pressure..the way numbers, space, and survival collide feels both natural and devastating. The line about parents turning on their young hits hard; it’s cruel, chaotic, and heartbreakingly believable. You’ve taken the simple rat world and made it a mirror for human tension, too.
Roma

[Soren]

Thank you Roma for your understanding review. I by choice now live in a relatively isolated area and not seeing anyone for days, it is easy to be giving to anyone in need, as compared to going to town and being hit up on every street corner by someone begging. One learns to draw the line somewhere and generosity becomes stinginess.

[Lara]

"Too many rats in a cage..."
Yes, rats may not belong in a cage.
Rats on the street, however, might still find use in Gandhi's words: "The world has enough for everyone's needs, but not everyone's greeds"
Assuming rats could read, ofcourse 🙂

[Soren]

Thank you for the review it is most appreciated

[John the Baptist]

On the positive side, the rats don't have nuclear weapons.

[Soren]

I'm sure if they did they would use them more wisely than we do. thanks so much John for the read and comment it is as always most appreciated.

[Chris Shaw]

I’m a firm believer in birth control. Look what happens to the rats. A complete breakdown and mayhem. Too many kids, too much poverty, overcrowding and disease. Needs sorting. Who is going to be brave enough to suggest it? That’s how your poem spoke to me Soren. Some would totally disagree. Large families are fine, providing the parents can afford to care and nurture their kids, and it isn’t left to the tax payer to pick up the bill. A topical write in some parts of the world, right now. Responsible parenting. Not the more the merrier. A huge problem covered in this well crafted poem, and then there are the rats. Have a good Sunday.

Chris

[Soren]

Thank you Chris for the review and support. People are always too slow to use prevention so latter we are required to enact drastic measures of intervention. Not just at a family level but at an ecosystem level there are too many people. It effects what we eat, our atmosphere, moods, crime rate, how we treat others and health over all. So appreciate your words my friend