Ordinary Days on Planet Earth

The light from the sun
travels to earth every day,
soaks into the ground,
        the dirt,
        the water,
        the rocks,

and the plants burst upwards
in a multitude of colors

and the animals grow
and change
and evolve,
wandering over the land
and in the sea

and the people
are simply starlight
with brains and hands

they create marvelous art and music

they solve incredible problems
with knowledge, ingenuity
and vast imaginations

they invent technology
to communicate with each other
and transform the lives
of billions

and though they
don't always know it,
they are
        striving striving striving
to be good,
and kind
to one another.


-Jim DuBois
Aug 11, 2009

Some Alarming Traits

You are displaying some
alarming traits lately,
Mr. DuBois.

Searching in the sandy snow-piles
for change,

wandering through town
in the middle of the day,

these are traits
one normally associates
with highly unemployed
persons.

Do you ever think about
where it might lead?

What if you found enjoyment
in all those little moments
which make up a day?

What if you never wanted
to work again?

Where would we be,
Mr. DuBois,
if everyone believed
they had a right to
the life they wanted to live?

Do you ever think about
your influences on others?

You are setting an example
with your blissfully positive
faith in the universe,
Mr. DuBois,
and I shudder to think
where we would be
if even a few others
adopted your slackerly ways.


-Jim DuBois
Feb 1, 2001

I Don't Know Exactly What to Say

I was gunna
write this poem
about the feelings
I'm having
about dating you,
but there haven't been
any disasters,
and I'm not filled
with unattainable longing
and you're not at all cold
or distant
and I realized
there's no pressure
because you like
my actual natural self
and so I guess
I don't know
exactly what to say
or even exactly
how to write
a love poem
when I'm so
relaxed and happy.


-Jim DuBois
July 22, 2009

Love note poem #1 for Kara

Hey! It's wednesday,
and I miss you!
The hugging and kissing
and especially
the love.

-Jim
July 22, 2009

I Wonder What Happened to Ferris Bueller

I wonder what happened
to Ferris Bueller
after his day off?

Did he pull more amazing stunts
until the end of his days
or did he get crushed
by the monotonous routines
of adult life?

Maybe he works at the Post Office
but hangs out smoking dope
with "Shaggy" (from Scooby Doo)
at night
and they talk for hours
about the good old days
when the kids were always right.

Maybe he got real fat
and loves bowling.

Maybe he doesn't give a fuck.

Maybe he's in a ditch somewhere
right now,
moaning, wishing for
the techni-color days
of high school to return.

Maybe he's dead
or a political activist
or both
or a vegetarian
or a card-carrying NRA member.

Who knows?


-Jim DuBois
July 15, 2000

Three Snakes

I saw these three snakes
and a ton of frogs
and it reminded me
of when
things like that
really mattered


-Jim DuBois
April 24, 2007

In the Weeks Right After Josh Was Born

Once, in the weeks right after Josh was born,
I typed my thoughts into the computer,
and cried about how hard it is
to care about someone innocent
who you know
must face a hard world.

Not that I think the world is only hard.
I also think it is fantastic
and I love living.
There is so much to do,
so much I want to do.


-Jim DuBois
March 25, 2008