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)

bare trees
drag shadows
across gray
roof-tops

sunlight glints
off passing cars

the day goes on
with or without us

(D James)

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)

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)

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)

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)

hands
on
skin

mouth
on
mouth

feel your
heat

wishing
it were
more than
this

but taking
what I can
get

(D. James)

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)

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)

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)