Falling fast now
through this life
Waiting for that
never-coming
something
to happen
Not sure
if this is sadness
or the edge
of madness
Each day
goes by and
all I want to do
is stop
(D. James)
Falling fast now
through this life
Waiting for that
never-coming
something
to happen
Not sure
if this is sadness
or the edge
of madness
Each day
goes by and
all I want to do
is stop
(D. James)
It’s a foggy day
can’t see more than my hands
maybe it’s a good thing
maybe it ain’t
but at least in this freezing weather
I’ve only one way to go
yippie-yay-oh
EL SEBBO
Damp clouds
like steel cotton
darken the day
Rain falls heavy
on the city
Good time
to be drunk
if only
I still drank
Maybe I should
leave town
or become
a fish
(D. James)
If only I had a head
so I could get a headache
If only I had a tooth
so I could crush pain like candy
If only I had a hand
so I could squeeze it all
If only I had a heart
so I could watch it beat
If only I wasn’t a poem
so I could
so I could
so I could
EL SEBBO
Cold seeps
through cracks
in the unfit
windows
A distant memory,
the sun, hides
in dark cotton
Life bleeds out
on dirty linoleum
and I can’t
feel my feet
anymore
(D. James)
Reality is not what
you make of it
Reality is what
you don’t want it to be
EL SEBBO
In the garden
of silence
All sound
becomes peaceful
There is nothing
to say
(D. James)
Let me walk blindly
let me walk as I please
ignoring dangers and possibilities
let me walk like a poet
following words like butterflies
and never catching any
in my broken net
(because words are only caught by fools
who do not know they are fools)
Let me walk
pursued by dogs
and loving women
let me walk until I die
and let me walk
after my death
wherever I fancy
as what I wish
is to keep on wishing
EL SEBBO
Listen
listen to the quiet night
as the crickets tell their stories
Listen
listen as the world spins
Listen baby, listen
while the sun rises
to bring the morning
Listen now before
it’s gone
Listen to the sound
of my heart beating
to my steady breathing
Listen baby, listen
while there’s still
a bit of night left
Listen to everything
as the city sleeps
’cause tomorrow
might be too late
So listen baby, listen
as I sing the night goodbye
And listen as the early light
stretches across the sky
(D. James)
The sun rose today
but I missed it
my eyes still blinded
by night and punctuated by stars
The sun rose today
and I didn’t
preferring to ignore
the glorious colors
to the monochrome black
The sun rose today
and I didn’t care
as I embraced
a lovely shadow
slightly smelling
of cinnamon
EL SEBBO
Impossible imagination
trickles along
through the minefield
of emotions
Biding time
or making tracks
it’s all the same
in the end
Stuck is not
a state of being
Only a state
of mind
(D. James)
A clap of thunder
in a clear blue sky
or the strange reflection
of something not quite there
are our daily mysteries
so sit down
have a coffee
read the paper
and finally
accept yourself
as the ultimate mystery
goddammit
EL SEBBO
Speak softly
to yourself
as you wander
through
the night
of the mind
Darkness
will settle itself
and bliss comes
in some form
even if only
for a moment
Another misspent night
of lost and hopeless
dreams
Light a last cigarette
like a candle
for the dead
Watch the sky
for the blue light
of a new day
Only then can you
lay down
and rest
your weary
head
(D. James)
Hanging upside down
I finally see the world
how it really is
EL SEBBO
There’s a hole
in the plan
wide as the sky
and bleeding
like an open
wound
If we push on
there will only
be more blood
Hold off
and we
get
nowhere
Best to take
our chances
and bleed
then die
in this spot
with nothing
(D. James)
Hermosa corona
shining high above the clouds
just out of reach of my wanting fingers
Hermosa corona
beautiful face wrapped
in silk and gold
you could be a vision
but your materiality
drags me down
Hermosa corona
if only you could
be a poem
a word an image
and disappear
as soon as
you were pronounced
Hermosa corona
I wish I could could
hold you in my hands
but they are tied
behind my back
and praying won’t help
Hermosa corona
your indifference
is truth
your glitter
wisdom
and your power
death
Hermosa corona
I run in circles
after myself
please let me
have you
please
please
EL SEBBO CORONADO
Like a curse,
seeing the world
differently
Having to explain
the colors of
another sky
or what it
sounds like
in a sleepless
city
It’s the gift
of seeing
through things
instead of looking
at them
the difference
of knowing
rather than believing
in the beauty
of nothing
(D. James)
The re is no mystery
in an open hand
but as we walk
our teeth grow back
into our gums
and our bones
shatter like ice
We try to laugh it off
but a howling wind
comes out of our lungs
and specks of our blood
decorate the sky’s blue cupola
There is no mystery
in an open hand
but the closed fist
hanging over our heads
is following us
like the shadow of something
we knew or thought we knew
EL SEBBO
stay with me
in this terrible
night
tomorrow will come
too soon
and I’ll
be gone
leaving you here
with little to say
even less
to hear
so stay with
me now
while I wait out
the night
wading through
the darkness
of my mind
only a bit longer
and tomorrow
comes
then there will be
new battles
not like this
not all
un-won
(D. James)
It is the time
when windows
are becoming walls
and children voices
are elongating
in the gardens
It is the time
when somethÃng rattles
inside your chest
and you wonder
if death will come
and teach you
how to dance
It is the time
when you evaluate
all the things
you have said
and you realize
they can be summarized
in a single word
It is the time
when the sky darkens
and becomes this impossible blue
you have tried for so long
to imitate in your soul
to no avail
It is the time
when finally
failures
turn to gold
EL SEBBO
If there were
no language
but simply
one person
who stood up
it would say
more than all
the words
we could hope for
(D. James)
The words
disappear like smoke
but the lungs
are intact
EL SEBBO
New York
is where you come
to be known
even, if only,
in small ways
The pizzaman
who calls you buddy …
“Hey buddy.”
“What you need buddy?”
The guy at
the cigar shop
who silently nods
acknowledgment
or the homeless man
who says, “Hi, how are you?”
then quietly, “can I
get a little help?”
The bar
on the corner
the diner
down the street
Everyone greets you
like a friend
This is how you know
you’re home
(D. James)
Q: Why can we always feel when something bad is going to happen but never something good?
A: Because there are more bad things than good things happening to us.
Q: Why are there more bad things than good things happening to us?
A: Because we are cursed.
Q: Why are we cursed?
A: Because we are free.
Q: Is freedom a good thing or a bad thing?
A: It is a very good thing. That’s why we can’t feel anything.
EL SEBBO.