James Babbs- Three Poems

Two Dollars

at the door they charge us

two dollars for an empty cup

but all the girls get in for free

we get to drink

all the beer we want

the music heavy with bass

pounding against the walls

spilling into the hallway

where people stand and wait

the living room furniture gone

the keg in the kitchen

in a garbage can

packed full of ice

it’s after ten o’clock

but we just got here

another saturday night

Stupid Jokes

in those last days

when he got to really drinking

I was the one he’d always call

it didn’t matter to him

what time of day it was

screaming at me to come over

until I told him I would

he liked drinking whiskey and

cheap beer from bottles and

I’d sit there with him

sometimes for hours and

he’d always tell me

the same stupid jokes

leaning forward before asking me

why couldn’t the pony talk

drinking some whiskey

while he waited for my answer

I’d say

I don’t know

why couldn’t the pony talk

and he’d tell me

because

he was a little horse

and then he’d laugh like crazy

and we’d drink a little more

then he’d say

what’s purple and goes

slam slam

slam slam

and I’d say

I don’t know

tell me what’s purple and

goes slam slam

slam slam

and I’d see him grin

before he said

a four-door grape

and his laugh would come

bursting out again

and I’d get us another beer

come and sit back down

then he’d say

you know why

the skeleton couldn’t cross the road

and I’d answer him

no

I don’t know

why couldn’t the skeleton

cross the road

and he’d take another drink

before giving me the punch line

because

he didn’t have the guts

his laugh again and

the jokes were so stupid

I couldn’t help but laugh too

and I think about them

all those awful jokes

and how he just went

on and on

he must have known

hundreds of them

sitting there for hours

the sound of his laugh

and god

I really miss him

I miss him so fucking much

Standing There

how long do you have to be dead

before I stop calling it your room

glancing up at the window again

and after all these years have passed

still hoping to see you

standing there

with that grin on your face

waving back at me

like nothing ever happened and

maybe it was all just dreaming

and I haven’t yet awakened

maybe it’s almost morning and

the sun’s slowly rising up

I’m turning in my sleep and

you’re climbing into the car

waiting for the engine to warm up

before heading back home