Friday, August 21, 2009

Haircut

Haircut haircut haircut

sittin' at Tracey's wedding
thinkin' 'bout my haircut
it didn't come out how I wanted
but things don't always, anyways

I forgot a belt today,
and the flute playing didn't go how I thought -
which is neither good or bad,
just how it is

I thought I was losing hearing in one ear,
and worried about it a little,
but watched this little girl
bopping a balloon into the air
with her head
and she really wasn't worried,
just energetically bopping the balloon,
and it reminded me of this little dog
I saw once that ran all around energetically,
and maybe a little oddly,
and I didn't find out 'til later
that the dog was totally blind

The funny thing was it almost seemed to not know it was blind,
and it definitely didn't care
or get held back in any way about it
and I thought,
it's ok that I forgot that belt,
and I can live with this haircut,
'cuz hair keeps growing and changing anyways

And what is hair?
The beautiful uncut grass of heads...


-JIM DuBois
Aug 16, 2009

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Face the Sun

Turn your face to the sun
once more,
for you truly are
a being of light,
come to life
because of explosions
in a star.


-Jim DuBois
Aug 11, 2009

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

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

Monday, August 3, 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

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

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

Saturday, July 25, 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

Sunday, July 19, 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

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

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

Monday, July 6, 2009

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

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Continuing My Mission

I’m continuing my mission
    to become closer
    to these…
    …humans, sir.

On the whole I am making
    good progress:
    I have walked among them,
    gone to “parties”
    and, in recent days,
    have become intimately involved
    with a woman…

She is my “girlfriend”,
    as they call it
    here on earth.

However,
    there are times
    when certain unforseen feelings
    arise
    and distract me
            (albeit, momentarily)
    from my main objective.

Jealousy,
            anger,
                        loneliness, -
   
these unpleasant preoccupations
    were not covered
    thoroughly enough
    in my training, sir.

I recommend a level 2 debriefing
    for all personnel
    engaged in “caring for one another”
    and also for those
    currently in training
    to do so.

In closing,
    I would like to give you
    what the humans call
    a “hug”.

***

It’s ok, sir:
    I found them unpleasant at first, too.

With practice,
    that will fade,
    and one day
        you might like them.


-Jim DuBois
Dec 15, 2000

Saturday, June 20, 2009

In the Winter, I saw Ducks

I hear the unceasing hum
of the traffic in the distance;

Everyone is rushing to get somewhere
and not spending much time
being anywhere.

In the winter, I saw ducks
swimming on an icy stream,
dipping their heads down into the water
to eat, like they always do.

I imagine the people turning off their cars
and placidly floating along like ducks
on the currents of life,
not controlled by those currents
and not resisting them either.


-Jim DuBois


This is an selection from my book of poetry philosophy, "Like the Sun". You can get a copy here

Monday, June 15, 2009

Already Broken

The glass
is already
broken

The house
is already
empty

My bones
are crumbling
to dust


-JD
April 5, 1998

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Sometimes

Sometimes you see the shadows
But miss the birds


-Jim DuBois
Sept 4, 1999

Thursday, June 11, 2009

All I had left

All I had left
    was
The quietness
    of
My own footsteps


-Jim DuBois
May 30, 1999

Thursday, June 4, 2009

The Far Reaches of the Galaxy

Lately,
      I’ve been having this fantasy
      that I’m travelling
      through the far-reaches
            of the galaxy

I’m riding alone
      aboard this spacecraft
      and there’s nothing to do
      except relax
            and see where I end up

Worrying won’t help you
      when you are millions of miles away
      from where you want
            to be,
      And I have accepted this
      and appreciate the nearby stars
            and my sturdy ship

But I am waiting for that
      garbled subspace transmission,
      (which I think will arrive any day now
      from the higher life-forms
      on planet earth)
      which says,
            “You’ve paid your dues,
                  it’s time
                  to come home.”


-Jim DuBois
1998

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Crows

But those crows
    up in the bare
                         winter trees

Reminded me
                    how to live:

Go somewhere,

Open up your mouth
            and make some noise,

Go somewhere else.

            Repeat.


-Jim DuBois
2000?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Sometimes

Sometimes...

well, you know

Sometimes
    maybe
        whatever

-Jim
Sept 30, 2000

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Untitled

It could be me,
It could be you,
It could be as soon as Now


-Jim DuBois
Oct 14, 2004

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Earth's Last Poets

Scrawling defiant love poems
on the debris of a crumbling society

Flinging meaning-laden words
into the abyss of consumerism

Bearing the human standard
inches ahead of the flames of war


-Jim DuBois
Aug 1, 2005

Friday, May 8, 2009

The green champagne bottle

The green champagne bottle
on the side of the road
reminded me of being young.

We used to play in the old junkyards
behind the barn,
collecting the pretty blue bottles,
the miniature bottles,
and the large rusty cans
and scraps of metal
which we couldn’t determine
a past identity for.

We stocked a boulder fortress
on the frontier of our exploration
with such goods,
and wondered how people could have
thrown them out in the first place,
since they were still interesting
and useful.


-Jim DuBois
Nov 3, 2003