barking dogs

the dogs lit up this morning
at 3:00 AM.
the entire neighborhood
exploded into a vocal rendition
of rabid misery.
one sounded as if it were being
murdered.
it has calmed down somewhat,
but there is a howl here and there.
a distant yelp through the darkness.
i'm not sure why people leave their
pets outside. i couldn't imagine
leaving my pets outside all night.
maybe i'm just more compassionate
than other people.
so i got up and made some coffee
and fed my cats and sat down
at the computer. my cats are staring
at me right now. it's like a silent thank
you for not kicking them out at night.
they'll never have to fend for themselves.
they'll never have to be cold or lonely.
they'll never have to fight for my attention.
if only people could be the same way
to one another. but we have politics
and religion to keep us alone and hungry,
yelping in the night.
we have outdated traditions to devalue any
idea that we might have for a brighter future.
and like those dogs outside at 3 AM, we
have a common, broken philosophy. we have
Ayn Rand and her envisioned individualistic society
working for themselves without the hope
of guilt to set us straight. welcome to
individualism, population: zero. if you're not rich,
you're out alone, howling in the night.