Visions (For M.K.)

Dylan Angell

A friend and I used to speak about how when we were younger

we both had dreams where we saw ourselves as grown homeless men living on the street.

We had met during an era when we were both uprooted and living in a nomadic state.

We each tried to control the outcome of our visions

by manifesting our destinies and volunteering ourselves to homelessness.

We figured we might avoid the worst case scenario

if we caught fate off guard and approached our fears on our own time.

I spent a stent train-hopping and a few summers sleeping outdoors in Europe.

My friend hitch hiked across the United States and slept on the streets,

taking his dinners in soup kitchens.

We thought all we had to do was let these scenes play out

and then we no longer would have to worry.

The experiment was inconclusive,

we still do not know what the future has in-store

but we can both agree,

we are slightly more prepared if and when that time comes.

We have talked about soon travelling together.

This time we would construct a project while train hopping.

Prior to setting out we would shave our heads

and faces and buy ourselves white jumpsuits.

Each day we would take a polaroid picture of ourselves.

When we returned we would have an art show where we would line the walls with the photos showing us each slowly growing darker, harrier and more ragged.

During my train hopping trek it was a revelation

to see how quickly I could be transformed by giving myself up to the elements.

I still watch strangers and imagine how they would appear

if they lived a month in just the clothes they had on their backs.

Dylan Angell is a North Carolinian who is currently based in Mexico City. In 2016 he released the book, An Index of Strangers Whom I Will Never Forget A-Z, via his Basic Battles Books imprint. He has collaborated on two books with photographer Erin Taylor Kennedy; 2017’s I'll Just Keep On Dreaming And Being The Way I Am and 2018’s Beyond the Colosseum. In 2019 he released Sinking Windows, a bilingual publication that was printed in Mexico City. He has been published in Fanzine, Fluland, Parhelion, The Travelin’ Appalachians Revue and Sleaze Magazine.