The Poet Answers

The Poet Says, Blackout Poem

you can't reach me

Oops!
My phone died

Now,
I'm out where
you
can't reach me,
a poet
watching the rain

Actually,
I left my phone
behind
on purpose.


-Jim DuBois
Nov 8, 2012

Buried Dreams

A blackout poem.

-Jim DuBois
October 2012

Para la Vida

Un momento
de tiempo

para el sol
para el corazón
para la vida


-Jim DuBois
Oct 17, 2012

Phantoms

Phantoms of the past
Loom large on cloudy days
Speak loudly in lonely rooms
Distort the day with dirty lenses


-Jim DuBois
March 19, 2005

abandonded

-Jim DuBois
1990s?

What?

"Damn! I forgot
to get a bow and arrow!"

"What?"

"Oh, on my to-do list
I have 'get bow and arrow'."

"... You and me
have really different
to-do lists."


-Jim DuBois
Sept 18, 2012

Late Night Pondering

I'm wondering
whether or not
I can do without
one or two
of those extra jars
from my cupboard.
I've been wondering
for a week or two
now,
and I think
I've decided I can.

Next on the agenda:
the old rice
  (20 lbs)
I am hoarding
in case of
the apocalypse.


-Jim DuBois
Sep 18, 2012

They Never Said Goodbye

From where she
knelt, playing
in the sand,
4 year old Zoe,
when told that
we, her visiting friends,
were going,
said, "I know"
and later on the
boardwalk,
yelled to us
as our distance
increased,
"You'll be late
for the birthday
party"
(at her house)
and Josh,
five years old,
even with urging
and pleading,
usually ignores
people
when they go
which is just
what he did
this time,
too.


-Jim DuBois
July 27, 2012

waiting

While waiting
for that special someone
to fill up your heart,
you overlook
so much


-Jim DuBois
Sep 9, 2012

"Instant Jim Classic"

I guess the bullfrogs
don't care
if it's raining.


-Jim DuBois
July 15, 2012

What We Wished We Could Have Said

If I go down,
if I lose my way,
hold onto the truths
I told you
beforehand:

I love you.

You are magnificent
  like stars.

The world is better
  with you in it.

My universe
  can't exist
  without you.


-Jim DuBois
July 14, 2012

Things Fall Apart

Things fall apart,
your initiatives fail,
your queries go unanswered,
your heart breaks,
your relationships suffer,
you despair,
and what do you do?

You start over,
you rebuild,
you make another plan,
you try again,
you open your heart,
you reach for more people.


-Jim DuBois
July 30, 2012

Tiny Sand Frogs

Turning over
a canoe on the beach

I discover
    reveal

a multitude
of tiny sand frogs,
(five could fit on my pinky)

tiny sand frogs,
descendants
of the glorious stars,
constructions
of tinier atoms

tiny sand frogs
leap about
in a tiny horde
after I turn over
a canoe
on the beach


-Jim DuBois
July 15, 2012

Looking Up at the Stars

Looking up
at the stars,
I say hello
to the photon
that traveled
all the way here
across the vast galaxy,
and
  "boink"
hit my eye.


-Jim DuBois
July 15, 2012

You Again

You again,
returned after
so many years,
floating with me
in kayaks on the lake,
letting me relax,
letting me talk
    and be myself,
a true friend,
a true friendship,
in a world
    that needs them badly.


-Jim DuBois
July 15, 2012

Gandalf Gets Married

In a basement somewhere...

"A great evil
is rising again
in the south,
and we must..."

"Gandalf!
Did you take out
the garbage yet?!"

"The garbage
must wait!
There is a
great evil..."

"Great evil?!
Are your
little friends
visiting again?
The hairy ones?"

"They're called Hobbits!
And they're our
only hope!"

"Yeah, yeah.
Just take out
the damn garbage.
Evil can wait."

"Ok... Fine!...
Sorry Frodo,
I've got to go.
Maybe we could
get together
another day.
If I don't take
the garbage out
I won't get
any pussy
tonight!"


-Jim DuBois
July 6, 2012

Epiphany

Little girls
playing in the dirt,
wiping their hands
on their dresses.

Everything else
is a sophisticated mask.


-Jim DuBois
July 3, 2012

Some Days

Some days
all you need are
some friends
and some ocean waves
to jump in

-Jim DuBois
June 30, 2012

Innocence

When I was
six or seven
my friend
said "fuck",
but I had no idea
what it meant.
He told me
it was a bad word
and wouldn't tell me
what it meant
until we
got away from
my little brother,
and went to a hill
in a far corner
of his father's
cow pasture.
Then he told me
that it meant
two people kissing
when they weren't
married.


-Jim DuBois
June 23, 2012