A church full of rats in elegant hats
\nwere ready to pray to their lord.
\nThe high priest of vermin always gave his sermon
\nfrom inside a hollowed-out gourd.
\nThey sang of great scraps and afternoon naps
\nand filled every one of the pews.
\nThe high priest did squeak, with food in his cheek,
\nand said, “Vermin, I have some good news.”
\nIt seems the pizza rat, who’d stirred up human chat,
\nwas going to be the guest at next week’s meeting.
\nHe’d bring a map of spill zones and discarded food locales.
\nThe congregation dreamed of better eating.
\n“He’ll show you a cafe down one dark alleyway
\nwhich has amazing food but not much seating.”
\nThe service ended with tails intertwined.
\nAside from cats, food preys on a rat’s mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A church full of rats in elegant hats were ready to pray to their lord. The high priest of vermin always gave his sermon from inside a hollowed-out gourd. They sang of great scraps and afternoon naps and filled every one of the pews. The high priest did squeak, with food in his cheek, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poem-2"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":691,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=691","url_meta":{"origin":2718,"position":0},"title":"Governor Gumshoe","author":"Rick Young","date":"February 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We need a sharp-edged ruler, who can spy upon us, too, a real protective leader, a Governor Gumshoe. He'll pound his dreaded gavel if we have too much fun. Then, if we don't settle down, he'll go and get his gun. He'll walk the streets at night time, eliminating crime,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":591,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=591","url_meta":{"origin":2718,"position":1},"title":"Expire By the Spire","author":"Rick Young","date":"June 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"There's a crash outside the church and bodies in the road, a flood of blood, the sirens cry, and god is just a goad. To die in shadows of the cross seems ethically untoward. The master's out of bandages, he only owns a sword. A priest is standing in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2810,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=2810","url_meta":{"origin":2718,"position":2},"title":"Richard Young’s 1974 poetry collection titled “Red Tin Noodles”","author":"Rick Young","date":"May 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As we near the second anniversary of his passing, Rick's family wanted to share some of his earlier work. Below is a full-text transcript of the printed 1974 poetry collection Rick Young's Red Tin Noodles. Headings represent the page structure. You can also view PDF copy of the printed edition.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"Richard Young's 1974 poetry collection titled \"Red Tin Noodles\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/redtinnoodles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Red-Tin-Noodles-Richard-Young-1977-78-poetry-collection-web-531x800.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":793,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=793","url_meta":{"origin":2718,"position":3},"title":"Creep in the Heart of Texas","author":"Rick Young","date":"December 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple days ago, I miscarried. Just a little blob covered in red. Now they tell me it's got to be buried. Bad enough my zygote child is dead. Fetus funerals are the law in Texas. Strange new rules now suddenly abound. Bring it to the graveyard in a Lexus.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":495,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=495","url_meta":{"origin":2718,"position":4},"title":"Ol’ Digital Blue Eyes","author":"Rick Young","date":"October 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Frank Sinatra hologram is just an advertising scam. He'll drink with you and sing a song, but bring your credit card along. Faux Frank does not croon on the house. In this sham rat pack, you're the mouse.","rel":"","context":"In "Poem"","block_context":{"text":"Poem","link":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2604,"url":"https:\/\/redtinnoodles.com\/?p=2604","url_meta":{"origin":2718,"position":5},"title":"Thanksgiving In Space","author":"Rick Young","date":"November 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Musk and Bezos broke the bread. Most everyone else was dead. Shatner, now a-hundred-ten, had to be revived again. Turkey served in Pez dispensers set off the food warning sensors. Stuffing made of vegan dirt spilled all over Bill Gates' shirt. Two guys ate more than all others. 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