Vision+Voice

COVID
(for my sister)

Do you remember
what it was like
Before?

It’s OK
If you
don’t;
you were only
six, I, nine

I can remember.

Can you tell
me
what it was like
Before?
To be able to hug
and shake hands
Without Hesitation?

to not worry about
Your
Family members
dying?

You might not
but I do

So when you ask
What was it like
Before?

I’ll tell you
About the flowers
and trees
Not about the sad things
Because the Before is gone
And while we hold onto memories
We need to learn to let go, too

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

We all played,
“Tag,
You’re
It!”

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

“Last one there is a rotten egg!
Ha!
You lost!”

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

“See you after spring break!”

Who kid
What kid
Where kid
no kid.

Where oh where has everyone gone?

The streets are all empty
There’s no one around
It’s just me and my thumb
and maybe some crumbs

That virus has come
The kids have all gone
And I’m getting quite tired
Of long lasting solitude.

How much longer will I have to go on?

I love you
I love you in the way the moon loves the tides
In the way the sun cares for the stars
In the way the forests love fungi

Time moves forward
Things change, people grow
I will see you less
Going different paths
I will love you

I will age
Time marches on endlessly
I will still love you
In the way fish love the ocean
In the way bees love flowers
In the way cats love sunbeams

I will grow old and die
the world will age with me, as will you
Even after everything
When the world is nothing but mushrooms and rubble
I will still love you

two souls meet, bound to work as one
they dance and play together.
the clownfish brings the laughter
and the anemone sees their fun
and realizes they are second to none.
tied together with an invisible tether
there is nothing they can’t weather
with enough admiration that can’t be undone.

the anemone provides protection
in return, the clownfish is a loyal friend.
the never-ending mutualistic affection
work in harmony to create a playful blend.
thinking in the same direction
their eternal love will never end.

I’m from blazing sun
Sweet smoke of barbeque
Meals served family style
Grandma’s peach cobbler.

I’m from a bridge of bats
Who escape at dusk
Truth lies in darkness
Free until the return of dawn.

I’m from live music that stirs the soul
Breathe in the colorful rhythm
Exhale your troubles
When we sing, we are one.

I’m from blood that runs burnt orange
Reminiscent of fire and flames
Souls tied together with a common identity
We never burn out.

But I’m also from guns
Who deliver harsh ultimatums
Gray and lifeless and cold
Kids who fear for their lives.

I’m from humans who sleep on the street
Figures shivering in the night
Nothing is promised
Homeless, not harmful.

I’m from danger in darkness
Head down, do not reply
Be home by sundown
Bats fly free, why can’t I?

I’m from the home of the brave
I’m from angst and sorrow—an open cry
They say I’m from the land of the free
But they also lie.

One thing I can always come back to,
A most loyal friend.
Nothing I’d rather do,
Until my life’s end.

Cold wind whipping my face,
In the mountain up high.
A most beautiful place,
Evergreens and the sky.

My board I am riding,
Shooting down the mountain,
On my heel and toe sliding,
Snow sprays like a fountain.

It is my annual reward,
The same mountain year after year,
I never get bored,
A place I hold dear.

Where the birds fly south for the winter,
Where the stones and paths erode,
Where the sun meets the peak of the mountains,
That’s where you’ll find That Old Road.

Tucked away within the winding fields,
Moving along with the river’s flow,
A long path stretches for an endless time,
That’s the road I’ve come to know.

It lies hidden within the rocky mountains,
Its life is written with grooves and cracks,
Its paint faded and rubbed off with the test of time,
Only a small sign marks the end of the track.
The sign reads: “You are home,” in weathered paint.
A sentiment to the weary traveler
Who has blindly followed all this way.
Then the road will end and so will your journey,
There at the edge is where you will stay.

So perhaps it is best to avoid the path,
Unless you truly wish to know.
Often the journey is not as it seems
Following That Old Road.

Basking in the sun on the porch where I lay
My owners are gone so I am left at home
The still-shaky air makes me feel alone
The sun disappears over the mountain marking a new day
Just being a dog I don’t have a lot to say
To fill my time I chew on a bone
The once-kept yard now overgrown
Day’s turn into months, do I stay?

I think my owners are gone for good
Does this mean I was not enough for thee
I hope I have misunderstood
Why did they abandon me?

Out of all the things we could have done, laying there in the sun.
Out of all the lies we told ourselves, this shouldn’t have been one.
We could have laughed and cried and never died, whilst laying in the sun.
I loved you, I loved you, I loved you, it’s true.
While I am not with you I do not know what to do.

Out of all the things I could have done, that was way too far.
I felt cold and dead, watching you crash and burn in that car.
I know you never really felt the same.
I wish you could know that I take all the blame.

Out of all the things I never did, I wish I had told you.
“The brakes don’t work, stay with me,
darling I love you”.

I slither I slide,
Basking in the sun, I’m warm and dry.
Sleeping in the sun, I shed my skin,
My skin is soft.
My scales are like stars,
They are like shining shards.
Somethings loud, it’s a mouse.
I’m as quiet as a crocodile,
I used my lifestyle.
I swallow that mouse,
Now I’m delighted.
As I enjoy my meal,
I shake to a sudden feel.
It is the trotting of the cattle.
The cattle were like declaring battle.
I knew I had to rattle.
They knew I had my venom,
I knew they were going to volt,
And it resulted in no fail.