James Babbs- Three Poems

I Didn’t Have Anything

I didn’t have a job

or a place to live

and sometimes

I borrowed someone’s car

or I bummed a ride

when I had some place to go

and I slept on people’s couches

I took turns

staying at different houses

some nights

I even slept outside

underneath the stars

twenty-one or two and

I didn’t have anything

but I felt pretty good

walking around

the warmth of the sun

pouring on my skin

and whenever it rained

finding somewhere to stay

I was young and strong

and indestructible

felt like I was capable

of doing something great

I never felt like

I was missing out on anything

except

maybe the touch of a woman

every now and then

and sometimes

I went for long stretches

without having enough to eat

the hunger like a hot blade of steel

burning through me

and those were

some of the best days of my life

Something About Windmills

the windmills kept turning

slowly in the sky

I started thinking about you

watching the windmills

slowly turning and

I was wondering about

the last time I saw you

trying to remember

what I said to you

while I was driving past

the windmills turning

slowly in the sky

I remember

you were crying

and calling my name

but I don’t know why

and there was something

about windmills

I kept seeing them in my mind

and I couldn’t stop thinking about you

A Hole

it’s not like a hole in the ground

but the emptiness I feel

somewhere in my heart

since she’s been gone

a hole in the wall

where the light shines through

but this room still gets dark

it’s like a hole

where I bury myself

sometimes

another place I can go

when I feel the need to hide and

it’s been a long time

since I dreamed anything good and

I don’t know

how many years have passed

since the last time

I wished upon a star

now

I get tired and

I just close my eyes

but there’s nothing left

nothing there

for me to see

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.  Recent poems have appeared or are forthcoming at Camel Saloon, Horror.Sleaze.Trash., and Word Riot.