Noah's Rats
It’s raining nonstop,
a deluge. The river
will swell and drown
the footbridge again.
They are issuing flood
warnings nearby.
My mind flashes
an image of Noah
on the ark. I remember
the jovial pictures
of the maritime
adventure from Korean
Sunday school in
Brooklyn, and think
how weird it is that
everyone was smiling,
even the animals.
Then I think of the rats.
I read that rats will
give up chocolate to save
other rats from a small
pool of water when
given the choice.
What’s even weirder
is that I didn’t question
the pictures before.
Since then, whenever
there’s a downpour,
I see grinning Noah.
a deluge. The river
will swell and drown
the footbridge again.
They are issuing flood
warnings nearby.
My mind flashes
an image of Noah
on the ark. I remember
the jovial pictures
of the maritime
adventure from Korean
Sunday school in
Brooklyn, and think
how weird it is that
everyone was smiling,
even the animals.
Then I think of the rats.
I read that rats will
give up chocolate to save
other rats from a small
pool of water when
given the choice.
What’s even weirder
is that I didn’t question
the pictures before.
Since then, whenever
there’s a downpour,
I see grinning Noah.
January / February 2023
Elia Anie Kim is a writer, filmmaker, photographer, and author of two dark-humor cartoon books, Evil Penguins: When Cute Penguins Go Bad and Evil Cats: When Fluffy Cats Get Mean. Born in Korea, she lived mostly in the US before moving to Australia. She's currently writing a book about an orb weaver that lived for several months on her terrace. She has recently completed a hybrid memoir about the remarkable birds that visit her bird bath. Her essays and poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Tusculum Review, Peatsmoke Journal, and The Hopper.
Art: Kimberlee Frederick. First Communion, analog, hand cut, 2022