assumptions made
plans set
though no one
told you
the day arrives
car all packed
you ride off
not knowing
where you’re going
the road stretches on
for years
stopping occasionally
in one town or the other
you sometimes wonder
how you will know
when you’ve arrived
(D. James)
long shadows
rush around
in straight lines
bundled against
the early morning sun
that gives off light
but little heat
another day
for the many lucky enough
to have made it through the night
yet who among us
thinks of the new day that way
before the first cup of coffee
if at all
(D. James)
staying up late
to watch the moon
crawl across the sky
the darkness
filled with possibilities
that the sun washes away in the morning
makes me want to hold on to this moment
embracing the night and never letting go
I don’t want
to go to sleep
tonight
but there’s no way
to hold back the sun
or stop the coming day
so for now
I’ll rest a few hours
then wrestle with the demons
in the daylight
until the sun goes down
and another moon comes up
when the possibilities arise
in the shadows of night
(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)
another day closes
and my heart
is elsewhere
being neither
here nor there
stumbling
from sunset
to sunset
just waiting
to board
the next plane
to you
(D. James)
bird
on a wire
comes with
the morning
light
chirps
then flits
away
sign of
a good
day
(D. James)
My shadow
tall as trees
in the late afternoon light
my mind
short on thought
as another day ends
(D. James)
See the tall girl
standing on the corner
a cell phone to her ear
Oblivious to the traffic
rushing by
a boy
talking in her ear
He tells her
“I love you”
but she doesn’t
believe it
She turns west
and hears him say
he can’t live without her
She turns east
and he says
please don’t leave
When she looks down
at the ground
is that south?
Up at the sky
north?
He keeps talking
pleading
wheedling
whining
but she stopped listening
long ago
Behind dark sunglasses
she quints at the bright sunlight
of a Los Angeles afternoon
It’s after she throws the phone
as it skips along the hot tar
and is run over a few times
she realizes
her mistake all along
has been looking for love
from without instead of
from within
(D. James)
I saw you standing
on the edge of a shadow
in the space where
sunlight and darkness meet
in the endless battle
of night and day
waiting
for something
in yourself
to appear
but the struggle
was too great
and you remain
undecided
(D. James)
The last hour
of summer sunlight
golden and clean
makes everyone
beautiful
Filtered through haze
softer
than the light
at noon
Similar to the dawn
but more powerful
for its proximity
and promise
of nightfall
Feel the final hour
of the day
and hope
for many more
(D. James)
disposable poetry 