dogs

February 9, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

it’s destroying me
this whole “don’t touch the animals” track
we’ve been on lately

i am a puppy croodler
a cat lap person
a snuggler and kisser of all animals around me
[so long as they let me]
and petting them
brings me
such joy

but with the swelling
and the red eyes
and the misery that benadryl barely breaks up at night
i suppose not touching the animals
because i am
*technically*
allergic
is a smart move

[but the misery could also be alleviated
with a soft and floofy cuddle…]

[damn body
attacking me
for one of the few good things in my life]

February 6, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

something that doesn’t get enough love
is how dogs show their love
through leans

the bearing of their weight
by the side of my leg
makes me feel like i
am supporting this whole dog’s
whole heart
whole mental health
by my lonesome

and she’s choosing it

[what a damn honor
to be a human
that a dog loves]

January 10, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

loving and doting on and still kissing my animals
while holding their faces
and staring into their eyes
and stating
“i’m allergic to you”
is so silly
but so
satisfying

[and almost makes it feel
ok
to have this knowledge]

November 25, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

we are good kips
who do our things
that we set out to do
in the mornings

me with my poetry
kip with their programming
puppies with their naps
and cats with their…whatever cats do in the early hours

November 20, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

evening poems
while william shatner
tells me all the unexplained mysteries
i should care about

but i simply
don’t

~~~

big yawns
and split-up sleep
and hopefully getting
the cat to eat
or take her meds
at least

[almost done with this trip
and i’m so excited to sleep
in my own bed
once again]

~~~

but seeing people has been absolutely lovely —
i wouldn’t exchange that
for anything

[even eight uninterrupted hours]

October 9, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i tap at the window
to get the attention of the cat
i’ve just fed
and the puppy goes crazy
thinking it’s a stranger
tap tap tapping at our door
and so she barks
and poofs up
and howls
to protect her home
and her kips
and herself
and she’s so brave

October 8, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

sometimes
i’ll do things
with no one around
that are so dramatic
i feel
i obviously
did them for an audience

but am i
an audience of one

or do i really want to influence
the animals here
that i’m that
ridiculous

?

[either of these could be
the for real
truth]

September 12, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

guest cats upstairs
and our animals down
trying so hard to figure out
what’s going on

the puppy
sniffing
and snoofing
and investigating
hardcore

and the cat
just kinda
hissing
every time she passes
that door

and the orange cats
seemingly
unaware of it all

July 26, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

that was
the greatest part of my morning

the greatest morning

a cat on my lap
enjoying the scritches
from my left hand

and a puppy at my feet
leaning into me
enjoying the scritches from my
right hand

and though i got no writing done
and it only lasted about ten minutes

i was in a blissful heaven
the whole time

July 9, 2025

/ HJ / Leave a comment

a family
a train ride
and thousands of sunflowers
in fields rolling past
at 266 km/h

and somehow it all reminds me of
van Gogh’s paintings
and how much i want to become
an impressionist

~~~

i just got so confused
as to why the baby in front of me
wasn’t crying in response to the
baby crying in the next train car over

and then i remembered that babies are not dogs
who bark and howl to be heard by others
of their species…

~~~

this whole trip
is a whirlwind

this whole life
kind of is
too

at least i have a train car
inside which to sit and write
all my silly poems

~~~

every
single
time
another train passes directly by
i
am
startled

~~~

there are
so many more palm trees
than i ever would have expected
in Europe

[i think that’s on me tho,
because climate is a known thing]

~~~

i think
if you’ve seen
any
van Gogh painting
of nature
or landscape

you’ve seen the full spirit of
what these trains speed past