silently mocking
my attempts
to scribble
something

of weight

the blank page
like a snow-covered
mountain

challenges my ability
to communicate
and whisper-laughs
at my thoughts of words

until I say
to the blank page
“ok, you write something”

then there is silence
and I can finally settle down
to begin the work of stringing words
together into something that makes sense

to someone
somewhere

(D. James)

never and always
right and wrong

bone and dust
blood and guts

intransigent and flexible
solid and liquid

everything
and
nothing

(D James)

and and and
bringing together
disparate thoughts

and and and
an endless string
of ideas

and and and
where I’ve been

and and and
where I’m going

(D. James)

and knowing
does you no
good

trying
so hard
to make
it all
work out

rushing
to the end
is not the best
plan

letting
it play out
taking
the opportunities
as they come

leaving
behind
what doesn’t
work

seemingly
a more difficult
path
but ultimately
you get there

Only to find out
there is no there
to get to

(D. James)

leaving nothing
unsaid

not even sure
this is possible

if there is
more to give
you will have it

all I want
is a chance
to know

what kind of love
it takes
to give myself
to another

(D. James)

waiting for a call
e-mail
chat
text

something
to let me know
you’re thinking
of me
when I’m thinking
of you

knowing
it’s no good
being like this

but doing it
anyway

’cause there are
no answers
only questions

so why not ask
the same one
over and over

(D. James)

something imagined
but never attained

a moment
in time
regained

an improbable
second chance

do you defy
the odds?

or is it all
rash insanity
fools folly

destined
to self-destruct

in the end
do we care?

not if we are driven
by our desire
think
this is our
destiny

perhaps then
we make it so
or burn in the fire
set so long ago
suddenly too close

(D. James)

the pull
so strong
the emotional
distance bridged
through half-sentences
in a tiny window

we abbreviate
and emoticon
our way through
complex emotions
rooted in a past
long before
any of this technology
existed

years go by
and then suddenly
you are there again

always reconnecting
always
at the wrong time

perhaps we had
our chance
back then

and it won’t
come around again

wishing
it were any other way
won’t make it so

but I still try

(D. James)

of all those words
in all those songs
like I do

someone fearless

who knows
the difference
between
pain and suffering

creating or courting
neither

but knowing
what it means
to feel deeply

to ache

to revel
in the glory
of being known
by another
like no other

to miss
the one you love

(D. James)

spell out
all the
ideas
emotions

color
outside the lines

black pen markings
beginning in one corner

not stopping until I’ve planned out my whole fucking life

filling ten rooms with the words of my mind
the work of my soul

not stopping until it is all out of me
like some monster some wild thing

only then can I lay down to sleep
knowing when I wake it will all
still be there
but exposed out in the open

nothing to hide

(D. James)