Vision+Voice

The Muddy Dog – (A tribute to all Muddy Dogs)

The dog walks in with mud on its nose
How it became muddy well nobody knows
It’s fluffy like cotton or like a sheep
It starts barking in its sleep
But the thing you should see
Is what’s hidden underneath

If it hears a boom if it hears a clap
It’ll start hiding right under your mat
Slobbery, snuggly, snoozes like a log
I know it’ll help me when I’m in the fog
And whether or not you need a hug
It’s always there to give you one
And when I’m scared and I’m alone
They cuddle me so I feel at home

So the next time you start to shoo him away
Take him home and let him stay
Because the muddy dog is here to play
And he’s always there to save my day

When I look into your soulful eyes
You’re the reason I love dogs and you make me smile
Every day when I come home
You make me feel wanted
Wanted like a criminal
Wanted in this world

Thank you to all the muddy dogs in this world!

I know you like perfect people
You may not like the perfect body
Or the perfect hair
Or makeup
But you do like a certain perfect
And the thing is no one will live up to your perfect
And you can never have a perfect person
Stop
They are not perfect
And they will never be your perfect

But I know my words will do nothing
You will expect perfect people
And for life to go your way
And we all expect perfect people
We never expect most of life’s twists and turns
But here we are making plans for next Saturday not even being sure if we will make it there

And still, we expect perfect people

2020.

A year where over 80 million people caught the coronavirus. Some survived. And some didn’t.
A year where over three million animals were killed due to the wildfires.
It was a year where people like Brennon Taylor, George Floyd, Michael J. Rivera, Vincent Harris and so many more were taken from this world by the police system.
It was a year when people spent more time worrying about the political issues of wearing a mask rather than just listening to the health officials and protecting themselves and others.
It was a year of protests and riots over issues that could not be solved by a simple statement.

The list could go on forever because 2020 was a year of chaos.

But, 2020 was also a lesson.

Through this year, we have learned the importance of being with family. Of valuing the time that we spend with others because who knows what can happen next.
This year has taught us to cherish the simple acts like giving a hug to someone without being forced to wear a mask.
This year has shown us the growth of technology in that we are able to video chat with our loved ones during difficult times.
This year has taught us to hold out hope, even when it seems like nothing can be better. On December 14, the first American citizen got the Covid-19 vaccine, giving us hope that soon life will get back to normal.

With everything that’s occurred this year, it’s important to reflect on the little good that happened along with the bad. Despite all the pain that this year brought, we should have hope that 2021 will be better. Some believe that we will go back to our daily motions of life and it will be like nothing ever happened. But it is important to take these lessons that 2020 has brought us and use them.

We pack up all the lessons that this past year has taught us, and we wait for the next event that life will throw at us. We say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021.

These days, the question: “Why did you,
our friend, a double edged sword,
let people apply
a power whose consequences some cannot afford?”
Engulfs our thoughts

Was it the mask you put on that
created the delusion:
“Societal approval is necessary to survival”?
We have yet to reach a conclusion

When Mr. Mollo forgot to
wish his best friend a “happy birthday”
His friendship was hurt and
their relationship withered away

If Alison had studied, for her exams, just a few minutes more,
a bigger effort (by a mere five minutes!) she could have made;
perhaps she would have passed the class.
But didn’t due to her failing grades

If the person walking down the sidewalk had been
less distracted and more aware,
they would’ve noticed the metal screw protruding from the ground;
the one that snagged their pants, causing them to tear

A tree cannot come to be
unless its planted from seed
My friend, you never realized
its us, not that negative power, that you need

For we can destroy friendships,
save lives, or prevent an attack
We’re sure you know as well as any
“it was the straw that broke the camel’s back”

As tiny as some of us are,
we are all of significance; and don’t need to grow bigger
If you look closely enough,
You’ll notice we’re all in the bigger picture

Best regards,
the Little Things

Haunting the hushed night
Hallucinations of swirls
Insomniac drain

Motorcycle revs
Imaginary owl hoots
Insomniac strain

Shadows swelling in
Merging with the popping swirls
Insomniac pain

Countless words passing
Of thoughts never heard again
Insomniac brain

Will the world quiet?
Will nothing be heard somewhen?
Insomniac dream

I wish to recognize a world
Of three generations prior
Behold willed ignorance
prefacing
the beginning of the end

And what defines a generation?
Tragedy—around which we organize
Well, cheers to progress!
Emerging problems and modern answers
Cycles of collateral damage
We’re dying to overcome

Because when the smog clears
I am a great grandmother
Glimpsing the Tatra peaks from Krakow
And swans parading Italian canals
Intoxicated by a fickle hope

That momentary reprieve
As we advance our chaos
Sheltered away—always drifting
Further, then hurtling
Fateful comet or
Weapon of mass destruction we are
Killing ourselves with knowledge
Flinging solutions and
Waiting

Disappearing into thin air
Perhaps I should
Because I became a ghost

People walking through me dressed in coats of fur,
I can barely feel
The warmth.

In the cool night,
I wonder through the paved streets
With no goal
To occupy my empty mind.

I’m withering away.
The wind blows, dissipating my shape.

And yet
I still see
I still hear
I still smell
I’m still here.

And never will I want to leave
Thoughts are flying through my head
I need to return.
My shoes need to finally touch the cobblestone of the pavement

And with this will all changed
There would not be an epitaph,

For I had spoken with the homeless man on the beach,
For I had fed the larks pieces of bread,
For I had managed to talk to one of my forgotten friends.

I’ve been brought back into the world,
And it drives through me
All the experiences flood my mind

Singing songs,
Forest walks,
Conversations long,
Perusing streets,
Eating treats,
Greeting friends,
Swimming deep,
Feeling breeze,
Hearing birds,
Holding hands.

I wish to recognize a world
Of three generations prior
Behold willed ignorance
prefacing
the beginning of the end

And what defines a generation?
Tragedy—around which we organize
Well, cheers to progress!
Emerging problems and modern answers
Cycles of collateral damage
We’re dying to overcome

Because when the smog clears
I am a great grandmother
Glimpsing the Tatra peaks from Krakow
And swans parading Italian canals
Intoxicated by a fickle hope

That momentary reprieve
As we advance our chaos
Sheltered away—always drifting
Further, then hurtling
Fateful comet or
Weapon of mass destruction we are
Killing ourselves with knowledge
Flinging solutions and
Waiting

Covid,
You can’t see it and yet it manages to kill people.
It surges through the world
with its wings flapping on it’s back,
silently doing it’s work to the innocent townspeople
like a black bird soaring through the night sky looking for it’s next kill.
You lost everything to it.
All the big leaders can talk all they want but they don’t know what the pain feels like.
People behind the scenes are risking their life everyday
and they get no credit.
It spikes.

You open your mouth and scream,
you scream for all those who didn’t get justice,
you scream for your mom.
Your scream
pierces the world with a sense of lost hope.
But a glimmer of light shines through the once closed doors
Hope is finally spreading its wings
You know the future will be better
Covid,
Silent but deadly.