a eulogy for the dead rat outside my building

I was headed out to go grocery shopping and watched a food delivery truck run over a rat that I thought would outrun it. Its tail was still vibrating as I approached, its nervous system firing at random since the main control systems were crushed. I’m no stranger to roadkill but I’d never seen the immediate aftermath. It stuck with me for the rest of the day, enough to make me come up with a poem as an apology.

Completed: October 2023

Media: Ink with digital color