there are times when I’d sit
on my back porch,
on the third floor of an apartment complex,
and it was really just a balcony,
but it was a place to hang outdoors.
all you could really see
was the apartment’s back entrance
to the alley,
and maybe the backs of neighbors’ homes.
now, keep in mind that this is Chicago,
and as a rule you don’t know your neighbors,
and when you’re a city person,
you’re used to checking over your shoulder,
you’re used to being on your own,
and you like having
your five foot deep porch
with a view of the alley.
anyway, I’d sit on my back porch,
with a glass of wine after work,
and I’d watch the neighbor’s garage.
you see, they had a separate garage
from their house next door
on the same alley
now, I don’t think
they kept cars in this garage,
I mean, if they did,
it was probably just to store the cars,
because I think the garage
was just for storage only
and it must have been full
of scrap pieces of wood
or something,
because I think it was
a safe house for them
because I think every time
I sat our there on the porch
there would be one or two
foot long rats,
you know, the kind with an
eight inch tail after their
foot long body,
there would be at least
one or two of them
moving around there
and I know it sounds silly,
but I never feared them coming up
to my place,
because I had an open-air balcony,
and I had no food,
I think the rats had it made in that garage.
and i have to admit,
it was always entertaining
to just have some wine
and watch the rats in the alley
from my back porch.
