November 18, 2021

the stress
and hassle
of planning for a family visit
is made all the more complex
in this time of COVID.

we [the family] are all vaccinated,
but half of us work
(or have worked)
in healthcare
so we know,
we know.

so is it worth
the 8+ hour drive
with dog?
is it worth traveling
(however carefully)
through some places with
less than stellar rates?
is it worth
even going
if we have a cold?
(every illness now is
a moment of pause
even if we know it isn’t
a coronavirus)

and with the family
not all that enthused anyway
should we again,
like last year
say next year?
[next year]
[next year]

November 17, 2021

i don’t know how to talk about anything
other than
everything that happened yesterday
and i don’t even really know
how
to talk about everything that happened yesterday
[but somehow
i must]
[?]

November 16, 2021

so much
so much
so much
in one day
probably won’t grasp it all
until tomorrow
or next week
or next month
or years from now
but for right now
so much
and yet
at least we are all in our respective beds.

[good night]

November 15, 2021

there was a fox
who lived in our old neighborhood
(in Madison, Wisconsin)
and even though we never saw it in our own backyard,
our neighbors informed us it was often there
and Kip would gasp
every evening
into the darkness
and whisper
“The Fox!”

here in this neighborhood
of The Bronx
there are two skunks
roaming the sidewalks,
rooting around for food
in our zen garden of a backyard,
burrowing in the bushes
near the front,
and though i was the only one to see one of them
hiding
in the hostas,
if i don’t shine a light down the alleyway
Kip will gasp
into the darkness
and whisper
“The Skunk!”

and that is how
“The Skunk!”
became the new
“The Fox!”

November 14, 2021

two dogs
both alike in dignity
one elderly and wise
one young and scared
both curious
both wary
both better outside than inside
both better with other dogs than humans
both here.

and this human, telling this tale, hopes that they will
someday
be less scary to young dog,
that young dog learns to trust
as old dog has
and someday
that beautiful
60% husky
black and white coat
can shed all over their lap
and be the protector
from all things scary
as they are for Louka now.

but for right now,
young dog,
look to Louka for comfort
be an adventure dog outside
watch the crystal rainbows float along the walls inside
listen to the dog calming music
and please
eat this cream cheese off my pinky

November 13, 2021

two weeks till my birthday
one week-ish till Sagittarius season
(which, to be honest, i don’t necessarily understand what that means)
but
now
here come all the feels:
the past
the present
the future
all combining
all narrowing in
(am i ever truly on the precipice of ‘something big,’
or am i simply in tune with the entire universe
and how there are big things happening
everywhere
for everyone?)

i often think about a tumblr post i saw once
where, in the afterlife, a person learns
that they have been every creature on the earth
through every lifetime.
so everyone they were mean to,
they were mean to themselves,
everyone they were kind to,
it was also towards themselves,
and from the tiniest ant
to the biggest trillionaire
through a [non-linear] time frame
they had been
everyone.

and to me, it is both a wildly self-centered,
and truly altruistic view
of life.

if the Universe is something that we share,
then perhaps we are not all one entity
bumping around/into each other
for all eternity,
but we are at least putting forth the energy we receive…

…and if we are like an apple
(keep up, i’ve moved on to referencing a tiktok video)
who exists in the third dimension
but can only find awareness of self
in the second dimension,
is there really a fourth dimension that we (as humans) exist in,
though we only have reference to ourselves in the third?
(or fifth and fourth, respectively;
i always forget where we are
and where our awareness ends.)
then my feeling of déjà vu,
and sensation of being too much for a physical human body,
was that simply a shadow of awareness
of my whole self
within the dimension of time
as it actually is,
not this linear strand
masquerading as time
as we mortals have constructed
(time IS a mortal construction)
and then, am i getting somewhere
in my thoughts
rather than feeling
so incredibly
stuck
as a human?

November 10, 2021

…is that why i’m so disconnected from my body now?
because i spent so many years
either
starving it to thrive in that social climate
or feeling like my mind was too expansive
for a regular human body

(and do i still feel like that
if i dig down deep
and ask?)