Hi, James—
I remember reading somewhere, probably in some unreliable online source, that in a big city like New York or London, you are never more than six feet away from a rat. I also remember reading Orwell’s 1984 for the first time and being creeped out by Room 101 and the wire mask with the rat that, if released, would bore into Winston’s cheek and devour his tongue. Rats are the stuff of Halloween, but as I read your poem, I felt myself warming up to them. The names are so evocative.
Glenn
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