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)
a man lay in bed
last days
he knows
dying from the struggle
to live
the nurse
does what she can
to make it easier
through the morphine
induced fog
a moment of clarity
he says
“I never learned
to ride a bike”
too late now
she knows
too late now
(D James)
stuck
in a one horse town
that is the dark matter
of the mind
worrying the night
like an old string of beads
cold wind
blows darkness around
til the dawn
which
brings no warmth
or understanding
just another prelude
to another night
and on and on
until the ride stops
(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)
a state of being
closed off to other
possible outcomes
a place of right
might
fight
where trouble lurks
and there is no soul
a safe place
where one finds
simplistic comfort
only in its opposite
is there any hope
or chance of stumbling
upon the world as it is
and not as we want it to be
(D James)
I went
as far as the road
would take me
then continued on
I followed
the wind
as far as it did blow
then went beyond
I walked
to the peak
of the mountain
then reached up and touched the sky
I dropped
to the bottom
of the ocean
then dug down to the center of the earth
seen the sights
rode the rides
had loves
and losses
watched the line between
the beginnings and endings
blur
then bend
into a circle
and I can either
go round with it
or waste time
fighting against the flow
(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)
it has been too long
between here and there
and always
it seems
there is further to go
the stops
along the way
are but brief
and though I grow weary at times
the movement remains constant
if not consistent
each day does not feel new
but merely another in a string
from sunset to sunset
blurring together
until it’s time to sleep again
finally something bursts
like the sun on the horizon
a bright warm day ahead
then nothing seems like it was
and I forget my name
(D. James)
today
everyone has a cause
they want us to
sign their petition
vote for their candidate
pray to their god
click to donate
“buy my book”
“see my movie”
“watch me shout
at someone on TV”
everyone thinks
they fight
for what’s right
but in the end
a fight is just a fight
and nothing more
and we
we are no longer
individuals
but demographics
grouped by
geographic location
browsing preferences
tweets and posts
tracked
analyzed
followed
“liked”
and “shared”
in the midst
of all this noise
and data
the bits
and gigs
the shouting
and being right
it is all too easy
to get lost in the created confusion
so we must remember
to look another in the eye
and say hello
share something genuine
and let go
for a moment
of the crush of
information
and be human
(D James)
for Joe Cap
always too loud
always too much
often out-of-place
often out of time
never doing
what I’m supposed to
saying the wrong thing
frustrated
living someone else’s life
unsure of the next move
the right move
going back to where
it started
where I started
always too loud
always too much
out of money
out of time
out on a limb
out of my mind
out of patience
out of sight
some day
this will all end
and I’ll surely miss it
(D James)
what if
we weren’t
our thoughts
what if
we viewed ourselves
as others do
or better yet
as who we are
without judgement
or emphasizing the negative
what if we strived
to be
acceptional
instead of exceptional
what if all the words
meant nothing
and so we stopped using them
to explain our life
and simply lived it
(D James)
everything is something
even nothing
is something
if only in word
anything that can be labelled
becomes something
in language
as the mind can
imagine
beyond the edge
of the universe
whether there is light
or microwaves
energy or matter
there is something
even if that something
is nothing
(D James)
it’s been said
time is an illusion
not the hands
on the clock
the other time
that exists in the mind
yesterday’s
and tomorrow’s
time
it’s been written
that all we have
is right now
and it only takes
being here right now
to reveal the wonders of life
too simple an answer
for us to comprehend
too easy for the mind to reject
and yet
if we stop for a moment
let our thoughts be thoughts
no more true forward than backward
there is a chance
to be present
and find who we really are
if only briefly
(D. James)
where to begin
from here
or much earlier
how will it end
in some sudden unknown later
perhaps
by the hand of another
or drawn out
over time
by some mutated
cellular replication
the future is
impossible to know
what is known
what is certain
is that someday
it will end
or we will
at least as we appear now
what happens after
the form is gone
only the dead
know for sure
(D James)
all the yesterdays
behind you
leave them there
all those unfulfilled
wants and desires
let them go
the worries about tomorrow
and tomorrow’s tomorrow
forget them
whatever supposedly came before
or might happen later
is not now
right now
is perfect
right now
is present
right now
is all we have
be with me here
right now
in the only moment
we have
bring your true self
the one of love
compassion
peace
into this moment
watch the leaves dance in the breeze
the birds take flight
feel the earth turn
be one with the 7 billion
who share this place with us
experience life as a single entity
can you feel it?
(D James)
darkness falls
sudden and silent
like the end of days
or the beginning
the evening goes deaf
as the black crawls
across the sky
into and through spaces unseen
dots of light
on a velvet canvas
and the new moon rises
reflecting nothing
on the other side of the world
it is winter
and a new day breaks
standing at the shore
uncertain
unready
unsteady
inviting the unknown
or futilely looking
for a place to hide
we either step
into the ocean of fear
or it will crash over us
will we be washed away
or cleanse our spirit
break our heart
or break us open
to find a deeper sense
of who we are
(D James)
waiting
for silence
to rise
for words
to pour out
like water from a pitcher
stopping
then typing
wanting
then trying
failing
then beginning
again
the dam breaks
when the thoughts
of can’t
and not good enough
are abandoned
ignored
left to die
of starvation
or simply put aside
while the typing
becomes writing
and hours
go by
unnoticed
(D James)
everything is everything
and the world
will not stop turning
until the stars
fall from the sky
and the universe
collapses in on itself
but they say
that won’t happen
for another 5 billion years
or so
and before that
though the planet may unburden itself of mankind
like a wet dog shaking off water
we have a little time
so
hold on
spread love
and laugh
long and loud and hard and often
because no matter who you are
how much money you have
the color of your skin
your gender
or what you think and feel
in the end
we all become dust
(D. James)
no such thing
as too loud
when it comes
to the music
of life
you can never
love too much
have too much fun
or be more alive
then in a succession
of nows
no greater
freedom
no brighter
wisdom
than now
and now
and now
(D. James)
man
son
brother
friend
boyfriend
lover
funny
generous
temperamental
lazy
aloof
afraid
writer
novelist
poet
reader
seeker
blogger
student
bartender
bouncer
technologist
manager
real estate agent
coach
white
tall
thin
bald
agnostic
socialist
biker
smoker
aries
negative
positive
everything
nothing
(D. James)
the rain doesn’t ask
why it falls
the sun doesn’t ask
why it shines
the tree doesn’t ask
why it leaves
nothing
in all the world
asks why
except us
because we think
what we think
matters
and it does
but only to us
so what if
we let our thoughts
fall away like rain
what if
we shined like the sun
what if
we let our false-selves go
like leaves from a tree
what if
we stopped asking
why
what if
we just admit
we don’t know
and never will
and what if
we didn’t
make it mean anything
(D James)
waiting
for something
to happen
like life
or something similar
wanting
to be free
from fear
or at least
push through
needing
to take action
but bored with
the supposed options
stifled
by the thoughts
of past failures
though there’s nothing
to be done about them now
avoiding
hard work
and difficult
conversations
instead
I’ll write
and smoke cigarettes
make a life
out of words
because in the end
that’s all any of us
really have
(D James)
woke up this morning
in yesterday’s undone
tasks
as if under a pile of stones
at the bottom of the ocean
dragging my head
out of bed
caught up in a web
of thinking about
broken promises
and all the
“should haves”
that I didn’t
and today looks like
another repeat of that show
with the same commercial breaks
“and now a word from our sponsor –
are you tired, listless, rundown?
need something to pick you up?”
no
what’s needed is to let go
be ok with right now
do what can be done
leave yesterday in yesterday
and make today anew
(D James)
what’s it like?
what’s it feel like?
rarely
what it is
so we talk about
as if a description
of a thing
is the thing
itself
this isn’t how I feel
these are the thoughts
about how I feel
judgements
on a theme
proximity
of an approximation
but what is it
moment by moment
this thing we call
life
I don’t know
but I can tell you
about it
for hours
and get nowhere
or instead
keep silent
find the moment
in the moment
because it’s happening
it’s always happening
even when we’re struggling
to understand
or explain it
it’s happening
right now
whether we’re aware
or not
whether we understand
or not
whether we agree
or not
it’s happening
even when we’re
not here
(D James)
what if
there were
messages
lessons
something
to learn
what if
there were
spirits whispering
in your ear
what if
you could hear
the sound
of an angel’s heartbeat
in the dreams of a lover
would you rather
drudge along
talking about
what’s impossible
or
spend your days
listening for light
in the flutter of a bird’s wings
(D James)
disposable poetry 