Anger & Frustration

I
Anger & Frustration 
in this fucking office 
I’m sick of everything!

sick of my clients, 
my useless boss 
my idiot coworkers

Don’t ask me for shit.

II
When work builds up too much pressure 
I use the internet for personal reasons. 
I open up my browser, 
search for videos and images 
and wish I were anywhere else. 

III
LOOK AT THIS PICTURE OF A BABY
JAGUAR, LOOK! at its big eyes. Look! 
at this baby jaguar! 
it’s being bottle fed! 
it’s playing with a ball in a pool!

for now she’s just a cutie love bug, 
but soon she’ll grow to be the most 
murderous predator in the Americas 
from Brazil to Arizona.

IV
I stare into this picture of this jaguar cub
     on my
screen paying special attention to its big
     brown eyes
so deeply so intently so deeply 
that I almost forget where I am.

these eyes 
are the same eyes 
waiting for me 
back home…

V
Cha Cha whimpers and moans 
whenever she’s left alone. 

she barks at everyone 
that creeps along 
she doesn’t know who to trust. 

Cha Cha burrows 
into pillow and blankets 
tries to hide and sleep 
the day away. 

She feels deeply 
the pain of this world
and it breaks her heart 
every day. 

VI 
The last native jaguar in Arizona
was murdered by an american settler
during a brutal period
of repression against predators in
the name of protecting livestock. 

To this day he has no
remorse and still keeps her pelt
posted up it’s his prized
possession. 

Occasionally, a few Jaguars
stray into Southern Arizona
and it’s always a big deal 
but these excursions are
expected to happen less and less 
due to the construction
of the border wall.

Something about this really affects
me to think about how this country
will kill you and call you a thief just
for the crime of being hungry.

VII 
I leave work, go home, 
get in a fight on BART. 
I arrive home and 
there’s a little silver-haired 
dog excited to see me! 
she jumps, she spins, she even pees a little 

aw, thank you Cha Cha 
and thank you God 
for bringing us so much laughter. 

VII (Cha Cha’s poem)
When my caretakers leave me 
     home alone 
I get bored and listless and a feeling of
     ennui 
takes over me and I start wondering 
about the life I’d rather be living.

My friends and I would roam the streets 
stealing meals off the plates of outdoor
     diners on Valencia,
antagonizing their dogs laughing and
     growling at the
labradoodles for not being totally
     unleashed like us.

These poor dogs 
were bred and sold 
for thousands. 
I was found 
so I’m free.
When night comes we continue to
rage until we find an off-duty police
officer. immediately, the chihuahua
and I sink our fangs into his achilles
while the pitbull mauls his face and
the old crusty white dog
keeps look out.

When the sun rises 
and shines its light 
on the bay 
we vanish away 
out of the street 
and into the warmth 
of our owners’ homes.