James Babbs- Three Poems

They Found a Body

in the field

not far from my house

last night

I saw the lights

flashing

outside my window

but I didn’t know

what was going on

until the morning

when I saw it on the news

they found the body of a woman

badly decomposed

they don’t know

what happened to her

they think

she may have been there

for a long time and

I drive down that road

every day

on my way to work

Longing

the beautiful woman gets up

and slowly leaves the room

she doesn’t say goodbye

you sip your coffee

and gaze at the empty chair

you catch the faint scent

from her lingering perfume

you spend several minutes

after she’s gone

trying to give her a name

you contemplate

your place in the universe

you return home

and sit in the driveway

before entering the empty house

In the Warmth of the Sun

I’m thinking about death again

sitting out in the front yard

and it just crosses my mind

I’m watching the cars

as they drive past my house

the grass turning green

and it’s almost time

to start mowing the yard again

I need to drive to the station

and fill my cans up with gas

but I’m thinking about death again

while drinking a cold beer

trying to remember

something my brother said

the morning before he left