when you will sleep
next to me

praying for solace
in a distant land

too far from home
too far from you

wishing to wake
into the dream
of finally being
there

(D. James)

closer to dawn
than dusk

when the cars
rubber by
less frequently

and your
eyelids
will not
cooperate

everyone else
is long down

nothing
but the hum
of the refrigerator
to keep you company

and that last car
rolling past your window

won’t be another till dawn

best to wait for it
under the covers

if you’re lucky
it’ll go by
unnoticed

if you’re not
it won’t

(D. James)

something
I don’t want
to see in me

avoiding
myself
by looking
everywhere
other than here

trying to get
out of my head
when I should
be in bed

another late
night

another wasted
morning

couldn’t I get
the same result
in another way

or another result
in the same way

it’s all the same
in the end

(D. James)

end of day
pink clouds
bloom red

then fade
into darkness
as night falls
upon LA

black cloth
with pinholes
of light

the city,
a brighter
reflection
of above

(D. James)

I think
this is what
I’ve always
wanted

to whisper
in an ear

that she’s
my one
and only one

but I don’t
realizing
that’s not me
that’s not her

it’s just an idea
in my head
from a song
Taupin wrote
about one of his
ex-wives

and what
does that
tell you

(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)

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)

odd streaks
splash the window

a dark
stark beauty

not so
when you’re
out in it

(D. James)

raise hell
for the hell of it

ride until the
road rolls up
behind me

until my tires
burn off the rims

and the sun
comes up to
stop me

dead
in my tracks

(D. James)

like a black
knife

no way
around it

I must
stay up

’til dawn
breaks me

only then
will I fall
to sleep

(D. James)