Stuart

I wish they'd named me
    Stuart,
'Cause then I coulda
    been nicknamed
    "Primordial Stu",
And I woulda
    jumped around
    like a monkey
And started
    a rock band.



           -Jim

Dear Mr. Frost

Dear Mr. Frost,

I slapped some words
  on a page today
  and called it
  a poem.

I know you wouldn't approve,
  but you are dead
  and I
    am not.



        -Jim

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

Strip Away the Tattoos

Strip away
    the tattoos
Throw out
    the designer belt
Remove
    the nose-ring
    and other assorted studs

Get out
    of your car
Discard
    your keys
Destroy
    your IDs
    and bank cards

Quit
    your job
Forget
    your date-of-birth
Erase
    your name



- Jim DuBois
Nov 20, 2005

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