Time

Time
By: James Dubeau

Time
Has no meaning
When I sit here
By myself
Letting the seconds
The minutes
The hours
Tick on by
Unable to see the sun
Rise and fall
Through the closed
Window shades
Skews my perception
Of the day
With no goals
No objectives
No work
Today
Nothing has been accomplished
Before the day
Has wasted away

Blah

Blah
By: James Dubeau

nothing on the mind
no poetry to write down
nothing worth posting

Roy G Biv

Roy G Biv
By: James Dubeau

Roy G Biv
Is a friend
To you and me
He adds order
A sense of direction
For organization
Of the unorganizable
Ranging from
Little colored candies
To shirts on the line
And if you follow him
To the ends of the Earth
Then maybe you will find
His little pot of gold

Old Friend

Old Friend
By: James Dubeau

The years have not been kind
To you at all my friend
Your dog eared corners
And yellowed pages
Do not hide your age
But when I pick you up
Your hard cover
Familiar pages
And musty smell
Transport me
To when I was young
Free to spend all day
Every day reading
Spread out in the sun
And had to sign my name
On your precious pages
To keep my sister from claiming
You as her own

Hated Town

Hated Town
By: James Dubeau

Here I sit
In this town
A town in which
I shall always hate
It was nothing
Personal
Against this town
Or even nothing
That this town
Ever did
Against myself
My hatred
Is due to associations
Which I shall always have
With this dreaded
Small northern town
Someone from this town
A woman
Whom comes to mind
Every time
I visit this town
And
Every other town
Around

Half Asleep

Half Asleep
By: James Dubeau

Long
Slow
Lazy
Movements
One
After
The other
Plodding along
To
A steady
Beat
Only
A half-step
In front
Of
Restful
Sleep

Liquid Dancer

Liquid Dancer
By: James Dubeau

At the dance floor edge
He stands
Amongst the kids
Covered with glowing baubles
Dancing
Twirling
Writhing
Under the strobe lights
He does not belong there
His plaid shorts do not belong
In the sea of black
Neither does his
White tank top under
Unbuttoned linen shirt
His baseball cap
Pulled low
Covering what should have been
Ashamed eyes
But yet
When the right bass moves him
He takes a step
Then a second
Onto the dance floor
His hands move
In liquid motions
Swirling
Around invisible hovering balls
As if he perfected dancing
Into a martial art
Oblivious
To the gyrating couples
Quivering around him
As his movements
Take him further
Onto the dance floor
Closer
To the reverberating speakers
Flanking the DJ

Summer Dancing

Summer Dancing
By: James Dubeau

Under the hot summer sun
Some seek shade
Some seek drinks
While I seek dance

Thunderous drums
Echo off buildings
A harmonica wails
Struggling to keep up
With the burning fiddle

They dance amongst me
Throwing themselves
About the open lot
In front of the stage
So sun
No heat
Shall keep these revelers
Away from the pleasure
Of dance

Last Night Together

Last Night Together
By: James Dubeau

Our lips met
We closed together
Tight
Passion flared
Before removing
My white over shirt
Not wanting to stain it
That shade of crimson
I knew what had to be done
By yet
The knife trembled
In my hand
Our eyes met
The short blade
Pierced flesh
Plunging
Twirling
Removing the unwanted
Slicing in twain
My hands
Became stained
Deep crimson
Droplets splattered
The counter and tile
I kissed her lips
And discarded
The waste

Hector

Hector
By: James Dubeau

Hector
Magnificent hunter
No prey can escape
Razor sharp claws
No bird of wing
Or beast of foot
Can survive
Crushing jaws
But yet
You lay on your back
Belly exposed
Wearing a pretty green collar
With twinkling bells
Looking for rubs
Looking for love
From those
Who house you
Who feed you
Who love you

Barroom Band

Barroom Band
By: James Dubeau

The barroom band rocks
Swaying
Jumping
Singing
Quickened beats skitter
Across checkered tile
Guitar and drums
Barroom standards
Set the tempo
Leaving the sax
Xylophone
And saw
To fill in odd melodies
Intoxicating the night air
Throwing patrons
With beers in hand
About the joint

Played On

Played On
By: James Dubeau

It was sad
And slow
Meandering words sung
In some language
That I don’t understand
Maybe French
Or Portuguese
It does not matter
My soul knows
The heartbreak
Hidden deep in those words
As the band grew quiet
And the accordion
Played on

On This Night

On This Night
By: James Dubeau

On this night
I reach out
For you
To be in my arms
Held close
In this heat
That suffocates so
The land is dead
Wilted
By the oppressive sun
But the ten
In my belly
Keep me
Where I need to be
Under the air conditioning
Letting me sleep
Alone

Fourth

Fourth
By: James Dubeau

The field is aglow
With the light
Of a thousand
Fireflies
Giving us four
Our own private
4th of July
Off in the distance
Booms echo
Off the trees and buildings
Surrounding
The inner city parkland
Distant flashing lights
Atop the hospital
Radio towers
And boom cranes
Add to the entertainment
As the four walk
Hand in hand
Watching dusk rise

Doppelganger

Doppelganger
By: James Dubeau

There he sits
Staring at me
Waiting
For me to turn
To acknowledge him
Before he strikes
Slivers of light
Pierce the night air
Illumining
His evil
Sharp toothed
Grin
And the blade
Clutched
In his hand
His thoughts mirror mine
But yet
Dark and twisted
For he is a doppelganger
From another time
Another place
Another dimension
I refuse to turn
To look at him
To grant him satisfaction
Of seeing him
Crouched
Down the dark hallway
Leading from my bedroom
He cannot become me
He cannot replace me
If I do not open my eyes
If I do not turn in bed
If I do not
Look upon him