The Caretaker

By dwells

I used to be the nightshift maintenance man
and surrogate mother at the orphanage.
The Three-Day War changed all that.
Now I’m in charge.

Every week I sit in the Administrator’s chair
and write myself a million dollar paycheck.
The kids are great – we’re all we have.

Billy died last night of the plague.
We threw him down the well with the others.
Cremations attract the fierce feral dogs;
we learn everything the hard way.
*
*
Go to sleep now little children;
in the middle of the room as you were taught,
and I will watch over you.

The hungry rats will not bite tonight
and when morning comes, we
will eat them as they do us.

Dream of how life used to be;
your loving parents now long-dead
when you first came to us,
and learned of suffering.

Do not dream on tomorrow my clever charges.
Quietly inherit the promised gift:
this dying world made just for you.

Go to sleep now to the lullaby of
rat music in the walls.
*
*
Everybody has to work somewhere...

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
Copyright 2017 dwells
Published on Saturday, June 24, 2017.     Filed under: "Fiction" and "Poetry"

Author's Note:

A previous foray into something prosey, cheers! - Dan
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Comments on "The Caretaker"

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  • carlosjackal On Tuesday, January 16, 2018, carlosjackal (3011)By person wrote:

    There's a duality to this piece that works so well and the storytelling aspect is also excellent. Nice one :)

  • dwells On Tuesday, January 16, 2018, dwells (4288)By person wrote:

    Much appreciate your attentions here CJ. The closing line was one that a dead friend used to say frequently at work. Cheers! - Dan

  • Arwen On Saturday, September 9, 2017, Arwen (187)By person wrote:

    This freaks me out seriously. Tis great!

  • TropicalSnowstorm On Saturday, July 1, 2017, TropicalSnowstorm (1703)By person wrote:

    holy crap, that's dark! great job on this piece, the closing line is shiver inducing and wraps it up well. Ciao, T/S Scholar

  • darkendomme On Thursday, June 29, 2017, darkendomme (125)By person wrote:

    I could see tiny breaths of cold air in a black and white scene, seeing little toes tucking beneath blankets safety....Story telling should draw the reader into the room and its era....and as always, you did :)) Cheers Dan! keep the rounds ah comin!!

  • Drea On Saturday, June 24, 2017, Drea (1443)By person wrote:

    Dan, this was great. It had this way of making me feel uncomfortable (in a great way), but flowed with such visuals. This is one of my favorites from you. Write on, sir.

  • worm On Saturday, June 24, 2017, worm (1194)By person wrote:

    well, hit me in the face with a brick! allow me to write you a million dollar check for this one! very descriptive and very well written... Kudos! ~worm~

  • Jerry stiles On Saturday, June 24, 2017, Jerry stiles (251)By person wrote:

    Crazy stuff man,,great write dwells,,I pictured all that,,,

  • midnights voice On Saturday, June 24, 2017, midnights voice (971)By person wrote:

    I had a basement apartment I rented for $35 per month in an old delapidated apartment building built back in the thirties . It had overhead pipes wrapped in asbestos running across the ceiling . I had hot and cold running rats in the walls depending on my selection of water temperature I used in the shower . Fortunately there were no kids . That would have been too much .

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