bookish house

By Martha McCollough

beneath the floorboards
even the rat’s composing its memoirs
on the backs of my ancient homework

(blotty blue cursive
list of kinds of coal —
anthracite bituminous lignite —
a diagrammed sentence
chief exports of south america

nun’s red pencilled blah blah blah)
my childish diligence

no one cares about any of that
thinks the rat, correctly