{"id":159,"date":"2026-01-15T15:33:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T15:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=159"},"modified":"2026-01-16T16:22:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T16:22:53","slug":"muddy-buddies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=159","title":{"rendered":"Muddy Buddies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Crave a little something to tide me over \u2019til dinner,
a quick distraction from this year, I deserve it.

I hunt through cupboards, review fridge,
search the pantry, assess freezer.

Alas, no snacks;
just raw materials. 

Due to recent household procurement overspend,
We possess three boxes of Rice Chex, of which

two suffer ripped cardboard, eviscerated liners
ravaged by unnamed housemates, left to grow stale.

Muddy Buddies \u2014 the answer springs forth.
A nostalgic treat, simple and feasible, that\u2019s it.

I command the smart radio to play the news
While I gather tools and ingredients:

Nine cups cereal into large container\u2014oops!
Harder than I presume, no, impossible

To direct airy extruded grain puffs
Into stiff measuring cup without spills.

Thousands of civilians are dead in Iran,
reports of government machine guns\u2014<\/em>

Set big bowl aside per directions, and
partially process sound bites pouring through kitchen:

Tearing through crowds of young protesters\u2014
the morgues overfilled with stacks of body bags\u2014<\/em>

Eyes strain to discern instructions for my afternoon escape, 
While I exclaim: 

Oh my God! 
What devastation.

One cup chocolate morsels, straightforward, this step.
Into the one quart bowl they go, awaiting a spin in the micro\u2014.

Greenland and Denmark officials just left a meeting with 
the U.S. President, who continues his insistence<\/em> on...

Oh
no -- 

...obtaining Greenland\u2026at all costs, perhaps?
Danish officials describe a \u2018fundamental disagreement.\u201d<\/em>

One half cup peanut butter it reads, but make it almond;
Use up that jar from Christmas, marshal available resources.

Gross - ooph<\/em> - measuring nut butter
is far stickier than anticipated.

Countries wonder, will the U.S. do to Iran
What they just did to Venezuela? <\/em>

Fully quagmired, nine of ten digits sullied by thick spread, 
I cut half a stick of frozen butter over the bowl;

Frigid shards shatter and scatter.
More complex than box back recipe led on.

Prepare for war, they\u2019re saying.
The world knows he\u2019s not bluffing.<\/em>

Bowl makes it into microwave
One short minute

Find non-stick spatula, stir and endeavor
to keep warm sludge in bowl, add vanilla.

Widespread Verizon outage results in
emergency alerts in Washington, New York\u2026<\/em>

Huh!
I call out, to no one.

Affecting at least one hundred
and forty-six million customers \u2014<\/em>

So that\u2019s why my phone is
stuck in S.O.S.

The United States announced it will
suspend processing all Visa applications\u2014<\/em>

Scoop molten mixture, already chilling,
Overtop bowl of Chex - doubting technique.

S.O.S
Save our Ships

Right? It means, Save us? Emergency?
I query the kitchen void.

Brown muck coagulates.
Should I have heated this more? Yes. 

Cold spread crushes against fragile spun wisps of rice
no contest.

\u2014for immigrants coming from seventy-five countries
citing welfare benefits concerns.<\/em>

Attempts to meld solidifying mixture with grain
Result in greasy clumps breaching lip of overtaxed vessel.

Experts speculate on how Iran will strike back
on U.S. targets, soil. What will come?<\/em>

Smashed concoction ushered into a 
too-small zippered gallon bag

Who even owns a two-gallon bag?
I scoff, defying directions.

I dump in the last dregs
of confectionery sugar \u2014<\/em>

NASA\u2019s Crew-11 en route to Earth in emergency trip from ISS - 
The first ever such evacuation - no word on specifics - unprecedented\u2014<\/em>

\u2014<\/em> not quite enough Domino's left;
no substitutes, it will have to do.

The President threatens Minnesota\u2026
The military may be scrambled \u2014<\/em>

What the\u2014?!
I utter, while I seal shut bulky bag;

Snow white powder collides
into culinary alluvium.

Grok under fire for creation of deepfake images<\/em>
featuring sexualized underage subjects\u2026<\/em>

Force an exhale, 
eyes cast upward

Massage groaning bag; 
attempt to coat, combine and unify.

What guardrails exist for minors?<\/em>
Industry experts disagree\u2014 <\/em>

Gunk-smeared cereal
incurs unavoidable damage.

We\u2019ll be back after this word from our Sponsors \u2014 <\/em>

Transfer a compact clump from sack to expectant ramekin
Bring blind fingers to mouth, eyes distant.

And we\u2019re back with more stories to shape your day \u2014<\/em>

Tongue interprets coarse edges, greasy coating
pulverized rice and numbing sweet.

The result is thuddish, cloying, overwhelming,
too much and not enough; formidable, tiresome.  

Push dish away.
Appetite, gone.

Muddy Buddies, 
the news and my daily.

<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cMuddy Buddies,\u201d in which world news infiltrates snack time. Poem 015 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-poetry-challenge","category-poems"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":196,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions\/196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}