Jump Ship Rat and other great moments in metaphor

[image error]

I'm reading a book called Cultural Hijack: Rethinking Intervention and on page 282 I found this poem in which a group of artists compare their organization to the rat. 

I reproduce it here without permission. Because it is so very, very brilliant, and your introduction to Jump Ship Rat, their work, and the book in question.

Jump Ship Rat

ability to move in any direction

with speed and agility

and fit through the narrowest of entrance/exit points

or to make them appear

ability to recognize when the ship you're on is in trouble

to survive

to be held in wildly different regard

to be vilified

to be used to understand the human condition

to be able to startle human senses

to be open to misinterpretation

to be clearly recognized and understood

to have power and strength in numbers

to make a distinctive noise

to be heard

to be part of the night

daytime appearances to be committed to memory

public consciousness to be affected

to become immune to poison

to survive many efforts to be eradicated

to be mythologized

and exaggerated

made folklore

warning to society

pied piper is Santa Claus

occupation of disused spaces

unswerving pursuit of life

celebrating what others disregard

living in slums and palaces

the underground home

great fucking tunes

social shifts

cultural exchange

time changes

mean time

jump ship rat

JUMP SHIP RAT

JUMP SHIP RAT

JUMP SHIP RAT

For more on this group, see their website here.  

To order the book (and you should), see the Amazon page for same here.