My, How The Tables Have Turned

Seeing the marks from their tiny feet,

Sounkare thought, finally, something to eat!

So hungry that he could practically already taste,

with all the strength he could muster old Sounkare realized he had to make haste.

At the other end of the bench sat the rat,

with with a good solid rump, firm and fat.

The female then appeared doubling his feast,

Sounkare took on the challenge with the drive of a beast. 

The old man seized the heavy copper tube and hurled it at the pair,

but the object only passed through the air. 

For the rats were much quicker than he,

and the piece of metal simply hit the floor noisily.

Sounkare sighed, leaning on his cane,

after all of his efforts to find food were in vain.

Just a few feet away was a grease pit, 

and the two rats were sitting on the other side of it.

They were watching, and patiently waiting,

as the old mans life was slowly fading.

The cane fell and an icy liquid ran down his back,

and it was finally the rats time for attack. 

Old Sounkare, the chief watchman, had passed, 

his body betrayed him and he was still at last. 

Other rats appeared from every which way, 

and their faces dug in with little delay.