Saturday 19 March 2011

The Ballad of the Rat King

Rat_king_bw
The Ballad of the Rat King
______________________
In the bleakest moments 
Of the season of hail
So unravels
A twisted tale
Of a curious creature
Of the strangest thing
The gruesome ballad
Of the tragic Rat-King
Myriad rodents
Conjoined as one
A witch's knot
Unable to run
The vermin monarch
The regal abomination
Destined to die
Of thirst and starvation
Reviled or revered
By the kin of its race
The sovereign fades
In cannibalistic embrace
In the bleakest moments
Of the season of hail
So unravels
A twisted Rat's tail.
__________________

Image & Poem © Andy Paciorek

(A version of this illustration also features in the book Alien Zoo by Karl Shuker http://www.amazon.com/Karl-Shukers-Alien-Zoo-Shuker/dp/1905723628 )

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