Chasing light

Beagle in the City #288

Ethan: Simon! Come ON

Simon: (sniffing absolutely nothing. Looks back at Ethan)

Ethan: (Opens arms.) what the heck are you even doing?? I have to go to bed. It’s 8:30

Simon: Oh ok. My bad my bad. Oh also, if there’s bones in the bed. It’s not from chicken wings it’s from aliens…

Ethan: omg…are you serious?

Francis: oh hey, guys, I don’t know if you’ve noticed. But I just got a NEW scratcher scratcher upper. It’s brand new.

Ethan: Francis, I just gave that to you. Are you going to sleep beside it?

Francis: What’s it to you? Maybe I love this , maybe I don’t. I haven’t decided.

Francis Cash #15

Ethan: Francis, look I’m sorry.

Francis: No! Stay away from me.

Ethan: Here, have some treats.

Francis: What is THIS this isn’t going to change anything.

Ethan: I’m sorry I dropped you in the sink.

I thought I had a better grip. But you MOVED!

Francis: (sighs. looks away.) I’m sorry I bit you. But you did drop me in the sink. You grabbed my bob tail.

Ethan: (whispers) I thought it was a Hemorrhoid or something.

Francis: What! It’s my tail.

Ethan: You’re the one that keeps getting poop stuck.

Francis: I do smell betterz now.

Francis Cash #14

Ethan: uhm,so Francis, I’m sorry I forgot your birthday. I thought you was mad because I adopted another cat…

Simon: It was pretty great when Atticus pooped down your back.

Ethan: Shhh we don’t talk about that…

Francis: Today’s my birthday?
Ethan: Yeah man, we’ve been through a lot together…you want some fish sticks? Maybe some catnip and a ball?
Francis: Im gonna fluff you up! You can’t forget about my birthday! What if I just forgot to wake you up to go to work!
Ethan: I actually have an alarm and an inner alarm…
Francis: This is an outrage! A conspiracy! Sorcery!
Ethan: Do you know,what all of those words mean?
Francis: Plagiarism! I Demand justice!
Ethan: …
Simon: ….
Atticus: …
Ethan: yeah he’s just throwing words around…

Happy Birthday France, thanks for being my friend. I love you buddy.

What’s your dream?
Your passion?
Where do you want to be?
What are you walking towards?
We tied ourselves up inside other people’s ideas
Look out at all the other faces in the room
If you don’t build your own

You will build one of theirs

What are you building ?

Are you just what you wanted?
Are you alright?
Do you dream at night?
Do the stars shout your name from the sky?
—-
I run for health
I write to kill
I kill to write
People say we’ve never been here before
I don’t have time to stop and compare
I’m going somewhere….
I was born
I was standing still
I wrote about the lonely
I wrote about living until our time is up is out
But I was there
I was putting pieces of my heart together
Alone
I’m just a broken vessel
But I’m strong
And here
Inside these walls
These streets
I found my people
We are made of love
They came to see me
They all know me
—-
We are born
Until we are born again
We all dream
Until we dream out loud
We all run…
Until time runs out….
—-
What is your passion?
What is your dream?

Beagle in the City #287

‪Ethan: Sleeping on the couch so I can watch my buddy Simone. He’s not feeling well. ‬
‪Person: you have a kid?‬
‪Person: a roommate? ‬
‪Ethan: no, Simon, my dog. ‬
‪Person: ….‬
‪Ethan: We are best buds for life. What else am I supposed to do? He helps me eat pasta and cheesecake, and sandwiches wait, ohhh‬ I think I know why you’re sick.

Simon: no it’s ok,it was the legos

Ethan: you didn’t eat LEGOs

Simon: the dog bones you hid for me?

Ethan: Ohhhhhh

Ethan: I think it was the trash you got in -Again

Simon: No I think it was the pretzels…

Ethan: …..

Ethan: hey France you want to watch a movie? It’s Richard Gere and Diane Lane

France: What the fluff is this? How about Chicago?

Woman

You don’t need me for this one…
But I was thinking about it
And I kept thinking about it
This weekend as I was observing people and listening to their stories and conversations …

I saw how often we apologise
Or explain ourselves….

So here we are…
This is not a poem about 2020
Because, I don’t have to tell you, we won’t always be here, our lives move far beyond this year…
This is about you…
You don’t have to explain yourself
You don’t have to make excuses,
You are not a poem
Your body does not fit inside the margins
You are not a school dress code
You are a woman
And you can stand for equality
And still wear makeup
Or don’t
You are still a woman
You can start your own business
You can wear lingerie and lipstick only for your partner
Because it turns them on
And still stand for equality

Have sex when you want

Lose your virginity when you want

Wear the dress, the shorts,

Because it makes you feel good

It doesn’t make you any less
You can work out just for you
You can date a girl
You can dress up or dress down
And you can do whatever you want and whatever makes you feel good about yourself
Do it for you…
You don’t need me to write this poem, I know that, but I grew up with sisters and all of my best friends were women
And I just noticed how we often hesitate and feel ashamed about ourselves,and feel like we are not doing our best…and we are not authentic somehow…
But the truth is …
You don’t have to be the same person you were five years ago
Or two minutes ago
And the same things may not even turn you on …
The same clothes
The same food
The same job
You can change
You can grow
That’s what life is
Even Nora Ephron said,
You may write down today
That you are a mother
And five years from now
Write down that you are a writer …
So remember
Being a feminist
Standing for equality
Being a human
Does not have to look a certain way …
You are more than all of those receipts and labels …
You are more than this poem …
You are – You- a woman- a life – a piece of the universe – walking among us…