Existential Crisis

After visting the Southernmost Point

in Key West, Florida

Milo and I got into a taxi

As we drove up the coast to Miami

Milo had his front paws

on the open window.

tongue sticking out.

the sides of his mouth

flapping up and down

in the wind.

he watched the waves.

the clouds.

he was smiling.

I was smiling.

I watched him.

not a care in the world.

his mind was clear.

my mind was clear

as I took it all in in

Sometime I wonder

what dogs think about

what they dream about

do they dream?

are their dreams

like Nadja's dreams?

like my dreams?

...the taxi driver sits in silence

Such a simple existence,

that of a dog

no contemplation

no awareness

of the conscience

of the search

for the meaning of life

just natural,

instinctive actions

based on raw necessity

and unconditional love

for the human

who fulfills those necessities

sometimes i wish

my life was as simple as that.

eat, sleep, poop, play, repeat.

would i even notice

the lack of anything?

of meaning,

of purpose?

that which we as human beings

constantly notice

and struggle with?

would life mean anything

at all?

my dreams

don't make sense to me

at least not to my conscious mind

i rarely remember my dreams

when I wake

sometimes they are clouded

and “I didn’t know what, or where, or who.

I tried to remember

but it was like

someone was dreaming for me,

like I was thrown into someone else’s dream.

My head was filled with thoughts

I wasn’t sure were my own

or wanted to be my own.”

sometimes

I feel like my life 

is clouded too

like I'm thrown into someone else's life

someone else's thoughts

not my own

don't want them to be my own

don't know what it means

what's the difference

between reality

and a dream?

do dogs know the difference?