Emma Jane Brassington
Anthropologist turned Artist, Film Maker,
Dear Mr Ratus
Dear Mr Ratus
I know your there.
You soak into my mind
And then you are there.
Your trails of shit left on the bathroom floor
Tell me that you are there.
I sat their simply, working away-
I knew you were there.
My busy eyes swept the floor
Flicking up and down the pages
Drinking in the words of the evening
The sounds of the syllables fluttered and chattered-
around my brain
Alone, I worked
I saw you were there.
Hearing a crunch
I look up
I bounce the bed- the noise stops
As I looked up the tables disappeared
The music stills
Return to work
But your still there.
A glug of my drink
A rat on the floor
A man at the bar
They meet
Eyes hold still
Turn- my book face down
Rat, I see you there
Moving forward
A shadow beneath the bed
The black patch darts out
Rat- there
Slithering over my books
Scuttling over my cloths
Rat- there
Dirtying them: spraying them
Transforming them into weapons
A marked territory laced with poison
The thick, black tail twitches and flicks
Man stoopng low
Rat climbing high
You are there.
Attack, defence.
Controlled,
You play your cards
bending- words and memory to shape your game.
Sick, shallow game
In a world where the rules aren't fair
Rat, you were there.
Uncovering peoples' tricks
Building armour strong
Pouring hope into a stranger
Experiencing their betrayal
Rat you live there.
Its wise to prefere strangers
In a world where trust is for losers and those who know it will win the game.
Rat you are still over there.
I bark.
I pick up the broom and thrust it down
Bark bark bark
No longer a whimpering puppy, i'm a fully grown bitch.
Rat you remain there.
Piercing eyes, shaking limbs, a curdling squeal. The rat scurries backward: reversing to cowardly lingering behind the curtain, a shadow at the foot of my bed
Rat, I place you there
The Pitbull waits outside ready to lock her jaws.
Rat she will meet you there.
The curtain draws back
Running skyward
I see you dart through the gaps
The swish of your tail
Imprints on my mind
Rat you were once there.
Your trails of shit left on the bathroom floor tell me that you were once there.