Classic Poem

Let's say
some day
all that's
left of him
is rats' tails,
just scattered
bits of script:
a loose “e,”
an “s” or two,
a “g,” an almost-
“n.” If he had
hands he'd
rub them as
the test begins:
to see how little
will suggest
the rat again.











From Poetry Magazine, Vol. 186, No. 1, April 2005. Used with permission.