the subway rises
from the mouth
of darkness
pulling cars across
metal track
to the top
of the mountain
the skyline
like a picture
postcard
at sunset
a symphony
at full tilt
a mass of steel
and glass
thousands
of lighted squares
and twinkling
red lights
reminds you
that this city
in its ebb and flow
was here before you arrived
and will remain long
after you are gone
(D James)
staring
out the window
watching the light change
bare trees
drag shadows
across gray
roof-tops
sunlight glints
off passing cars
the day goes on
with or without us
(D James)
messy business
this thing
called
life
no straight lines
or perfect circles
unchartable
unpredictable
erratic
like a riff
beauty
between
sour notes
brief
unyielding
amazing
painful
joyous
full of love
and contradictions
it couldn’t be
any other way
so why look for
what isn’t there
(D. James)
out the kitchen window
the late afternoon light
plays like a sax solo
against the building
across the way
cloud wisps
catch pink
as the sun hits
the horizon
the azure sky
goes darker
by degrees
evening comes
stealth and still
like a beautiful lover
passionate, intense
another night
lies ahead
awaiting the dawn
(D. James)
wanting
to hold someone
at the end of a long day
not just a body
but someone to love
curled up in my arms
breathing quietly
the smell of hair
and warm skin
mixed with clean sheets
someone to wake up to
come the morning light
someone
who calls me baby
in a way that means
the world to them
can’t a man want
these things
and not think
he has to hide
his feelings away
I’m just asking
(D. James)
waiting
the night out
feeling
my way
in the dark
hoping
the morning
won’t come
this one time
keeping
the fantasy
of being with you
longer than just tonight
alive for one more hour
as light
lines
the horizon
I take
one last look
and like Eurydice
you vanish before my eyes
(D. James)
wanting
to be lost
in a look
hands
on
skin
mouth
on
mouth
feel your
heat
wishing
it were
more than
this
but taking
what I can
get
(D. James)
haven’t slept
in my own bed
all week
now it’s later
than late
and I’m faced
with the aloneness
of being alone
in this bed
that’s just
a mattress
on the floor
I miss
your green
eyes
your red
hair
your pale
skin
your
attitude
the way you look
straight at me
in the morning
like a child
who has yet
to learn fear
or know the difference
between themself
and another
and your laugh
pure abandon
in that ha ha ha
the complete unbridled
expression of joy
how will I make it
through the night
and worse
what will I look forward to
in the morning
(D. James)
in bed
your head
on my chest
I want
to write
my name
across your
smooth white belly
to mark you
as you’ve
marked me
afraid to say
what I truly feel
for fear
it would
scare you away
then I let go
of all that
and am with you
in a way
not possible
before
and all
I want now
is more
(D. James)
wanting
to burn
for another
feel
her missing
from the sheets
when she’s away
be
in the warmth
of a gaze
wake
in the silence
before sunrise
stare
at her body
lying in wait
get lost
in the smell
of her hair
pull
her to me
knowing
that’s always
what she wants
(D. James)
when it rains
it rains
for days
on end
seems like
it’ll never
let up
then
suddenly
without warning
clouds part
stars appear
and the wind
slows to a whisper
everything
is as it was
as it should be
and tomorrow
the sun will shine
(D. James)
Waking
only a few hours
after falling asleep
I think
it’s 5
in the morning
where she is
she’s still asleep
I see her
face
quiet
beautiful
that mouth
later
on a bus
cold December sunlight
and I think
6:30 where she is
still asleep
Through the window
the Manhattan skyline
from the Jersey side
majestic
moves me
like no other place
yet I’d trade
it all
for another
chance
(D. James)
waiting
for the call
which never comes
the one
where she says
all is forgiven
I love you
she says
please come home
we can work it all out
she says
come to me
and I do
and we do
but the phone
doesn’t ring
and everything
reminds me
of her
cup of tea
a bed
laughter
dark hair
sunlight
dogs
tears
children
laundry
I think
what should I do
with all these thoughts
in my head
afraid to let go
that that
would be
the end
and I keep
wanting
another outcome
the one where
the phone rings
and she says …
(D. James)
what can we
give
on this day
that can truly
be called a gift
not something
bought
or even made
but something
of ourselves
to look someone
in the eye
and let them
know
they are loved
and appreciated
to leave
them
feeling
as if you know
exactly who they are
not who you
think they are
or need them
to be
but truly
who they are
(D. James)
just because
you want her
doesn’t mean
she feels
the same
or even notices
you’re alive
(D. James)
she notices
the men who
turn their heads
just in time
the ones who look
but don’t want
to be obvious
trying to be
cool
but she
catches them
anyway
often sees
heads moving
to the left
or right
as if
they were
only observing
the room
the one
they’ve been
sitting in
for hours now
funny
how that
keeps happening
(D. James)
high heeled shoes
short black skirt
smooth legs
drive the herky-jerky
old men crazy
scratching and blinking
shaking their balding heads
remembering a time they had
wishing they weren’t
who they are
for one more day
before she walks
away
leaving them with
the faintest scent
of perfume
a memory
of a memory
lingers
(D. James)
it wells up
into your heart
dies between there
and your throat
that longing
that passion
to live
to feel
moved
open
raw
keys
black and white
tears
clear as rain
play it again
but never tell
what it means
never put words
to beauty so soft
and lovely
(D. James)
It is said
only the fallen
know the true depths
could you be
one of the rare ones
so often imagined?
Longer than any river
the emotional road we travel
More torturous
than your beauty
this lustful addiction
that can be
briefly assuaged
but never ever cured
And where
have the gods
that made you gone?
Is it true
you destroyed them
so there would be no equal?
I am a dark knight
sent on a failed errand
for a now dead king
riding through endless nights
searching for some
unexplainable something
that exists for a moment
then disappears
leaving only memories
and the faint tint
of lipstick on my glove
I need something beautiful
to destroy me
someone intelligent enough
to match me
I thought I heard you calling
(D. James)
