The night cousin Ed met Genghis Khan (May 14, 2006)

The night cousin Ed
met Genghis Khan
at the edge
of the Gobi desert
and they raced
stolen tractors til dawn
while drunk on plum-blossom wine
stolen from the forbidden city.

Actually, plundered.
Plundered is a better word for it.
Plundered plum wine
and stolen tractors.

Good old cousin Ed
and crazy Genghis Khan,
lord of the mongol hordes.
What an unlikely friendship.
Wow!
But they’ve been pen-pals
ever since.



     -Jim

Unexpected (May 17 2008)

I slept so well
I forgot
what day it was

I saw
an ex-girlfriend
on the street

I got
a check
for $6.41

Then, wow!
free condoms


     - Jim

The Opposite of Wasting Time (Jan 24 2006)

I guess
the opposite
of wasting time
is hoarding time,

pinching off seconds like pennies,
counting minutes
on the balance sheet
of your life
and hoping they are all
wisely invested,
well-spent,
not wasted on frivolous things,
or luxuries,
or anything intangible,
like happiness.



     -Jim

Nowhere to go at 11:42 pm (June 14 2006)

Nowhere to go
at 11:42 pm.

Walking through an empty
Smith campus,
I pretend that
because there is
a locked room
where I keep all my stuff
my life is under control
and held in check.

What if all meaning
is artificially constructed?

I head out
towards Stop & Shop
to get some
cinnamon gum.

     -Jim

Incandescent Time (March 11 2007)

Incandescent time,
burning the edges of reality,
softly glowing
as it consumes eternity.

Incandescent time,
revealed by memory and motion.

Incandescent time,
I offer you this moment.



     -Jim

Deer Antler (Dec 25th, 2005)

Wandering lazily
in the field by my parent's house,
I found a deer's antler
in the snow.

Half an hour later,
after a slow search,
as I composed in my head
a poem about how
what luck brings you
you can't seek deliberately,
I found another antler.

     - Jim