Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Get That Dog Off the Street



  • Previously posted flag as self-portrait with lamp, sideways
  • Hiked a loop of Catoctin in the Frederick Watershed past Sunday, more people in the woods in one day than we saw in woods the last year
  • I automatically did the Hi! Doggo as dogs approached but disappointed them by not touching them so their people needn't bathe them in hand sanitizer when they got home









DEMOCRACY

Dorianne Laux

When you’re cold—November, the streets icy and everyone you pass
homeless, Goodwill coats and Hefty bags torn up to make ponchos—
someone is always at the pay phone, hunched over the receiver

spewing winter’s germs, swollen lipped, face chapped, making the last
tired connection of the day. You keep walking to keep the cold
at bay, too cold to wait for the bus, too depressing the thought

of entering that blue light, the chilled eyes watching you decide
which seat to take: the man with one leg, his crutches bumping
the smudged window glass, the woman with her purse clutched

to her breasts like a dead child, the boy, pimpled, morose, his head
shorn, a swastika carved into the stubble, staring you down.
So you walk into the cold you know: the wind, indifferent blade,

familiar, the gold leaves heaped along the gutters. You have
a home, a house with gas heat, a toilet that flushes. You have
a credit card, cash. You could take a taxi if one would show up.

You can feel it now: why people become Republicans: Get that dog
off the street. Remove that spit and graffiti. Arrest those people huddled
on the steps of the church. If it weren’t for them you could believe in god,

in freedom, the bus would appear and open its doors, the driver dressed
in his tan uniform, pants legs creased, dapper hat: Hello Miss, watch
your step now. But you’re not a Republican. You’re only tired, hungry,

you want out of the cold. So you give up, walk back, step into line behind
the grubby vet who hides a bag of wine under his pea coat, holds out
his grimy 85 cents, takes each step slow as he pleases, releases his coins

into the box and waits as they chink down the chute, stakes out a seat
in the back and eases his body into the stained vinyl to dream
as the chips of shrapnel in his knee warm up and his good leg

flops into the aisle. And you’ll doze off, too, in a while, next to the girl
who can’t sit still, who listens to her Walkman and taps her boots
to a rhythm you can’t hear, but you can see it—when she bops

her head and her hands do a jive in the air—you can feel it
as the bus rolls on, stopping at each red light in a long wheeze,
jerking and idling, rumbling up and lurching off again.

4 comments:

  1. Bezos The Amazonian could give $124,000 dollars to each of his 798,000 employees and he would still be a $1 Billionaire

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  2. The Intercept wants more thoughts and prayers for the victims and even less federal government action? Perhaps they should merge with The Federalist.
    Not sure dogs can carry the virus.
    Love the flag pic on the lamp. Your best yet!
    As I tweeted, I feel like we've reached the 'Let's sacrifice your Nana for Larry Kudlow's portfolio' stage of capitalism. And, to be clear, this is evil—as pure as we've seen in some time.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for Kind words on flag!

      I was thinking that people would wash their dogs not because dogs would get sick but because they'd be afraid to pet the dog and get sick from Covid I left on dog.

      Evil yes, But Wait! There's More! Lots.

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  3. Posting this for Steve (whose attempt to comment go into the ether):

    I'm getting the feeling that ANYTHING can carry the virus... if They Say It Can. Meanwhile, the simplest cure for The Plague is to move to the UK, where it's officially now considered little more than a nuisance. The US still has big plans for it, though, I'm sure...

    "Status of COVID-19: As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious diseases (HCID) in the UK."

    https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid#status-of-covid-19

    ReplyDelete