“Rats have been recast in the role of saviour after being trained to sniff out landmines. The animals … can cover an area the size of a squash court in 30 minutes …” — The Times, Thursday 1st September 2005.
Ignoble beast,
despised little gnawer,
persecuted, poisoned, trapped
since time began.
Now rehabilitated
the rat’s become
Man’s friend
and little helper
for him risking
life, limb, and tail
to find his unexploded landmines.
Lacking human speech,
illiterate
but resourceful
it indicates
the presence of a mine
by subtle use of
body language
thereby displaying
a degree
of sensitivity
hitherto quite unsuspected.
Pete Crowther
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/man-s-new-little-friend/
