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

Rollerblading around at night (June 28, 2007)

I felt pretty cool
rollerblading around
at night

until I skated
through a huge nasty
dog turd

but didn't find out
til later
when I took my skates off

and grabbed them
by the bottom
and said,

"What's that?
It looks like...
oh, shit!"

I was at Stop & Shop
and wanted to buy
some fruit

but decided
to wash my hands
first

only,
the water pressure
in the bathroom sucked.

I also thought
I might wipe off
my rollerblades

but the bathroom
only had an air dryer
and no paper towels.

"I think
this is one of those times
the Buddha talked about

where you think
one thing will happen
but it never does

and you end up
pissed off
because you wished it would have,

and if you could only
get over that expectation
you'd be fine."

And Jesus would probably say,
"Skate through a turd
with your other skate."

or: "Blessed are those
that step in shit
and don't complain."

Well, I don't want to make
those guys
look like assholes,

so I'll do my best
to shrug it off
and forget about it.

But it still sucks
to have dogshit
on your skates.



    -Jim