It Began

It began
with the smile on Jake's face.

Someone dropped their keys
Someone else fainted.

Jake kept smiling.

The people on the sidewalk
felt their neck hair stand on end
and their skin tingle.

Many looked to the sky.

Up on the 30th floor,
a woman turned into a sparrow
and flew away into the clouds.


-Jim DuBois
March 30, 2016
(revised some old scraps of writing from the 90s)

Hidden Landscapes (June 2003, May 10 2006)

I don’t mean to alarm you,
but just outside the yard
there’s a pulsing landscape,
filled with ever-blooming flowers
and the un-dimmed dreams of youth.
All you need to do is raise your eyes
ever so slightly from the TV,
and cast your glance out the window
at the billowing clouds or
the momentary flight of birds,
or the sun going down
    over the hills,
and
        Bam!
you might never find your way
    back.



      - Jim

Marking Time (April 16 2008)

Marking time
by people walking
by returned phone calls
by day and night.

Marking time
by growth of trees
by clouds
by the lifespan of the sun.


-Jim