The city at night. Junkies, whores, a third shift worker done with the factory and looking for eggs and bacon to line his belly so he can curl into backwards sleep, the day outside unable to pierce his blanket-draped windows.
The rattle in the dumpster might be rats or men.
They share a common purpose, and even desperation, though if you are honest you must admit the rat is better equipped.
The man, though, possesses a wisdom that will only have value at the end of the world, an end he hopes for with vehement repetition.
A Mantra.
A prayer.
Exceptionally strong writing, you had me hooked from the first line.
You write like you’ve been there; know the bins; fought for the crust.
So well written. Earthy and gritty.
Grim but good. 🙂
You certainly took me with you to the seedy part of town. I like the way you compare rats and man with the rats better equipped until the end. Powerful stuff.
Strong writing.
Very evocative and powerful. I like the commentary about mice and men.
Of Mice and Men. very strong story. So few words and yet it can take multiple readings.
Excellently written, reminded me of a Tale of Two Cities! Powerful!
Great writing. Oh, the rats are better equipped. We humans are so frail when it comes to survival.
This read like the opening page of a novel, great descriptive writing and now I’d like to know more…
I loved the backwards sleep.
My money’s on the cockroaches.
You’ve built so much into those two words ‘mantra’ and ‘prayer’. Powerful writing. Wonderful images.