James Babbs- Three Poems

James Babbs continues to live and write from the same small Illinois town where he grew up.  He has published hundreds of poems over the past thirty years and, recently, a few short stories.  James is the author of Disturbing The Light(2013) & The Weight of Invisible Things(2013).

More Wine

I gave her more wine

and refilled my glass

we were getting comfortable

she said

I dreamed about you last night

oh I said

no she said

not that kind of dream

oh I said

no she said

it was you and your mom

and I think

your father was there

but I couldn’t really see him

I said hmmm

and gave her more wine

you know she said

I never got to meet your dad

I said yeah

it kind of makes sense then

I gave her more wine

did anything happen?

I asked

no she said

not really

I emptied my glass

filled it up again

I laughed

what’s funny?

she asked

I said oh

I was just thinking about

the dream I had

oh she said

yeah I said

let me tell you about it

I gave her more wine

I took a drink from my glass

Some Blues Last Forever

some blues linger for days

the shift in gravity

nobody sees

some blues are given names

and have songs written about them

for anyone to sing

some blues have arms

long enough to

wrap themselves around me

they hold me tight

never wanting to let go

some blues grow heavy

clinging to me

the weight I must carry

through the lonely days and nights

some blues take time

like a fine wine

like poetry

death

dressed in black

and smiling

some blues last forever

the sky

the color of her eyes

the feelings I get

long after she’s gone

She Never Told Me She Was Getting Married

when I called her that morning

I was feeling kind of lonely

I hadn’t talked to her

for a long time and

I was really hoping

I could see her again

I asked her

if she remembered me and

she said yes

she knew who I was

but she told me

she was kind of busy and

she’d call me back later on

I said okay and

we ended the call

she never told me

she was getting married

I heard about it

several days later and

I thought it was kind of funny

well

I hope she’s happy

now