All his life, the rat had spent a life of waiting

Waiting for the next button
Waiting for his next meal
Waiting for the next maze
Waiting for his next mom
Waiting for his next family
Waiting for the next pill
Waiting for the next test
Waiting for the next surgery

Waiting for his death.

But secretly
The rat wished for freedom

For the green grass outside
For the wild kind, his new pals
For the sun, for the stars
For his life, for a love
For a family, a true friend
For something genuine, something real
Something true, something pure
For the tests to end and his life to begin
And quietly,
The rat spent his life

Waiting

To be freed