Monday, May 6, 2013

James Babbs- Three Poems

Trick of the Light

I kept looking through the window
thinking I saw ghosts
but I realized
it was only a trick of the light
nothing was out there
and I heard the wind
pushing against the house
I got up from the couch
and walked into the hall
checking the thermostat
because I felt so cold
then I went to each room
and looked around
making sure
everything was okay
all the rooms looked the same
and I stopped at the bathroom
pulling back the shower curtain
not really certain
about what it was
I thought I might find
and I laughed
I’d been in love before
but that didn’t mean
I knew much about it
I went to the kitchen
and grabbed another beer
I closed the curtains
on the living room window
before returning to my seat
and I waited
slowly sipping my beer
I sat there in the silence
I didn’t turn on the TV


Laundry

I’m doing my laundry
on a Saturday night
because
I don’t have
anything better to do
writing this poem
with the sound of the washer
coming from the other room
and no one calls me any more
to ask me what’s going on
I guess
it’s something that happens
when you reach a certain age
you no longer feel like going out
you just want to stay at home
and it’s okay
because
I have everything I need
I just went to the grocery store
a couple of days ago
I’ve got plenty of wine
and beer
and tomorrow’s Sunday
so I don’t have to go to work


There’s This Guy Who Shows Up

every now and then
I see him emerging
from out of the shadows
before he comes forward
and crawls inside my head
he doesn’t have a name
I’m not sure who he is
or what it is he wants
but he has all these reasons
for doing the things he does
of course
they’re different from the ones
I try to hold on to
sometimes
he’s much stronger than me
and he reaches out
grabbing me
with invisible arms
until he drags me down
he tells me all kinds of things
and I believe him
sometimes
he hangs around
for days on end
and it frightens me
because
he makes me feel like
I don’t know who I am
and the air grows heavy
until it’s hard for me to breathe
I keep thinking it’s me
doing something wrong
when he leaves
the light seems to change

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