Rattus Rattus

(Roof rat)


They run rampant in these coastal neighborhoods. 
We heard scratching within the walls, saw droppings 

beneath the kitchen sink and in the damp basement 
the landlord doesn't bother to light properly. 

We found a bag of scones on the floor, chewed 
clean through. We're told to get rat poison 

and see if that will fix the problem. Some 
come in tubs labeled Just One Bite. Active 

ingredient, either bromethalin or warfarin. 
Up until the turn of the last century, arsenic 

and thallium were also used. A skull and cross-
bones sticker indicates lethality: Danger! Fatal

if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through skin.
The poison causes internal bleeding, nerve damage, 

pulmonary edema. Death can follow: not immediately
but fairly quickly or it might take a few days. 

We found it twitching in the corner, making sounds
that might be interpreted as both snarl and shriek. 

Not us but pest control came to take it off 
our hands. Meaning a dispatch, or a deposition.