1.

I’m a stinky rat in need of love

Trapped in the sewer gutters of ur heart

oil slick and gnawed empty

my world-weary squeaks find no echo

in ur cavernous aorta

this far down

the light from outside

no longer bristles my fur

Please give me something to nibble on

2.

Demons have parents too, ya know

my features betray their sins

I’ve got the devil’s smile

crossed with a little girl

who’s got her going-out overalls on

and anarachic rage wound into two taut pigtails

with enough change in her pocket

for a pack of gum,

gasoline, and a match

3.

I’m a stinky rat and it’s my birthday

wow!

i can count on two stub claws how old i am

my front incisors are coming in nicely, mom says

maybe i’ll bite someone someday

if it weren’t for all the fleas

i would a thought i was a real girl

4.

my other head’s prettier than me

she got the night vision

and the wide-open mouth

while i got all the brains

our owner calls us by the same name

feeds us from the same dinner pail

but we both know

this collar can’t contain

the heaviness of two hungry heads