James Babbs- A Poem

The Distances We Must Travel

I keep thinking about

how much easier my life would be

if I had never met her

if she hadn’t started working here and

I didn’t have to see her

every day

always looking so beautiful

first thing in the morning and

she’s seeing someone and

I wish it were me

but it’s not and

sometimes

I find myself contemplating

the distances we must travel

the ones not measured in miles

but by something much more

difficult to calculate and

I wonder

about the number of lonely people

sitting at their kitchen tables

with only the light on above the sink

slowly getting drunk and

it’s something

nobody wants to talk about

huddled around the water cooler

laughing at jokes

that were never really funny

but we use them for protection

lingering inside those uninspired moments

in order to hide

the sound of our breaking hearts

I have published hundreds of poems over the last several years in print journals and online.  I live in the same small town where I grew up.  I work for the government but don’t like to talk about it.  I have a cherry tree and two grapevines in my back yard and several pesky rabbits.  My books are available from www.xlibris.com, www.lulu.com & www.interiornoisepress.com.