Rat Town Burns

No one got hurt in the fire, but it was reported that
one million rats were consumed in the flames.

They say a million rats laid down
Their lives the day Seattle blazed
To ash. The town within the town
Asleep: nocturnal rats unfazed
By daytime noises gone awry —
Such dreams of fish and apple pie
In ovens, crusts and marmalades
In garbage cans for midnight raids
Danced through, from cell to cell, their small
Uncluttered rodent brains as flame
Consumed with wagging tongue the lame
And fat ones first but nearly all
In crackling bites. The lithe ones woke
But only soon enough to choke.

[image source]