James Babbs writes

Ready or Not

I’m not ready

for my hair to go gray

wasn’t it only yesterday

I was an awkward teenager

too shy to talk to girls and

learning how to drive a car

graduating from high school

messing around in college

for a couple of years

just trying to find my way

it wasn’t that long ago and

I remember

how I wanted to write a novel

by the time I was thirty

what happened to all those days

now

it seems kind of strange

when I look into the mirror and

see my father’s face

how long has it been

since he passed away

come over here and

look into my eyes and

I swear

you’ll still see the boy I was

the same boy

I still feel like I am

he’s still in here and

sometimes

I can hear him laughing

for no reason at all

he’s still in here and

he’s waiting for something

I think there’s still

something he wants

Man In The Mirror -- Suzanne Marie Leclair

James Babbs writes

One of Those Nights

last night

I erased her number from my phone

because

I didn’t want to get drunk and

start calling her again

I listened to the rain

drumming on the roof above my head

sounding

like the beginning of a song or

maybe

the ending of one

it was one of those nights

when the loneliness turns dark and

starts making a lot of sense

one of those nights

when I kept pulling beers from the fridge and

drinking them down

one after another

taking the empties and

lining them up on the table

something I like to do

whenever I get drunk

The Bottles Are Empty -- Andrey Edelkin

James Babbs writes

Even Now

it’s quiet now
the world has gone to sleep
but I’m still awake
lying in my bed with the light on
blankets pulled up around me and
I’m watching the fan
hanging from the ceiling
the blades not turning and
I wonder if she’s happy
wherever she’s at tonight
remembering her in this room
but it was a long time ago
but even now
something lingers and
it catches me off guard
I put out the light and
turn the radio on
find myself
in the middle of a Stones song and
the sound of Jagger’s voice
wafting through the air 
I’ve been walking in central park
singing after dark
people think I’m crazy

Sleepless -- Yulonda Rios