In the United States alone, 44% of dead birds, mammals, and reptiles were found to be non-target victims of anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning. [Nakayama et al. 2019 in Kovacs, E. (2019). Secondary Poisoning and Ecological Effects of Anticoagulant Rodenticides. D.U.Quark, 4 (1).]
Stumbling bleary-eyed into my messy kitchen
I head straight to coffee pot
for that necessary morning ritual
reaching for my countertop cauldron
I notice a mandala of strewn fragments
spread atop worn formica
the collapsed bag
from the loaf of honey wheat bread
lays like a discarded snakeskin
riddled with the shredded edges
of irregularly shaped holes
I wonder what creature had been here
or was even still here
no mouse could decimate 20 ounces of bread
unless there had been a secret mouse rave
in my kitchen last night while I slept
skittering little feet on every surface
partying down mouse-style
Before I went to bed
I sprinkled flour over the counter
like a dusting of snow
threw in a crumbled granola bar
for extra attraction
and barricaded myself
behind a tightly shut door
in the morning I woke
with both dread and excitement
Lo and Behold!
footprints in the flour
like when hiking in the winter
The verdict: a rat!
At my landlord’s request
the exterminator placed bait boxes
outside as well as inside
assuring me this would not
affect other animals
I knew this was a lie
—
Jac-Lynn Stark was born in the Bronx and currently lives on the North Shore of Boston where she enjoys pondering life either from near the ocean or in the woods. She has an M.A. in English from Louisiana State University and an M.Ed. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She recently retired from 14 years of teaching English at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. Her work has been published in Writing by Heart. A Poetry Path to Healing and Self-Discovery by Meredith Heller, Nimrod International Journal, American Graveyard, calls to end gun violence (an anthology from Read or Green Books), Muddy River Poetry Review, Global Poemic, and others.
