Whiskers twitching
Head turning this way
That way
Reared back on hind legs
The rat takes a few swipes at its face
The floor is smooth
Sterile
No rocks or grass or twigs or bugs or scent
There are no bushes or brambles or leaf litter
No trees or sky or clouds or rain
Tentative steps along walls rising on either side
Watched
Examined
Data collected
The experiments continue
Reinforced this way and that way
There are discussions and speculations
The rat moves along ghostly corridors dreaming of seeds
Of earth beds and mud and the smells of freedom
In lab coats they wonder
When will the rat show up authentically
They reset the parameters and try again
But the rat perishes, of course
Stiff body and sleek white fur unmoving
Curled claws and curved tail
Heads are shaken while the muttering
Rolls under the florescent lights flickering
“We cared for it.”
“We accounted for all the variables.”
“We did all we could.”
Except for granting freedom
For the rat to live wild in the wilderness
To explore and learn and grow in a living place
Only a demand that it walk the maze laid out
Controlled
Caged and bound and never released
How they delighted in the performance and cheered
When the rat reached the end of the maze
And reset the walls and the tasks and the rewards
What is there to live for in a false and sterile environment
Under the humming buzz of electric lights and traitorous trails
Where authenticity is to rebel in the search for freedom
To give up when freedom is restrained restricted
They cut open the rat to find that the heart gave out
“It was the lack of love.”
“A broken heart, it looks like.”
“There are holes where the lies cut through each chamber.”
“We tried to make it healthy,” they consoled each other
And they dispose of the carcass
And they choose another rat
They name it by numbers and see if they can make it be
Authentic they way the want
This time
