Friday, February 13, 2015

James Babbs- Three Poems


7 Years

I crashed into mirrors
when I grew weary of my reflection
watched the pieces
falling to the floor
scattered
I saw the tiny image
captured in every piece
each tiny image
part of some larger whole
a man can go crazy
for the strangest of reasons
sometimes
women go crazy
thinking too much about men
everything broken
shattered
I stood there
raising the bottle to my lips
watching endless hands
raising endless bottles
touching the lips of countless mouths
so many of us
all in the same room
so many of us
getting drunk
alone


Married

when I drive past
I see them
out there in the yard
she’s picking up the sticks
that have fallen from the trees
over the winter and
he’s next to her
wearing his baseball cap
drinking a beer
pointing at the ground
showing her where they are


Maybe Next Time

I should’ve got drunk
last night and
tried writing another poem
but instead I came home
and mowed the yard
then worked the dirt
surrounding the grapevines
it was a beautiful day
and it felt good to be outside
later
I sat in front of the TV
flipping through the channels
because
there wasn’t anything good on
I should’ve got drunk
and tried writing another poem
but not a love poem
no
not another poem about love
maybe something about
how I didn’t seem to write
as many poems as I use to
because
for whatever reason
things weren’t the same
not like they were before and
even rooms
I’d lived in for years
could suddenly appear strange
in the pale morning light
after I awoke
feeling restless and afraid
from my own dreams

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