James P. Roberts Poems

I still have all my teeth -Thank God!
Although the hair is thinning, it is still
mostly brown, with a little gray at the edges.
My sore punished feet are yet able to trod
...

How many more books
would you have written
granted an extra thirty-eight years?
The thought is staggering.
...

Sugricality: the habit of sprinkling sugar on cereal.
Zoomitose: the blank state of mind one gets when driving for a long time.
Amblicraz: walking with shaky knees.
Duplilody: playing the same song twice.
...

It was called 'Feast with the Beasts':
having lunch at the Zoo
amidst all the exotic animals.
Thousands of people lined up
...

1. Never end your poem with 'forever'.
2. Avoid 'the' with all your might.
3. Sentimentality works fine for Hallmark.
4. Death is everywhere, always has been.
...

The scarecrow loses balance
and flops to the ground,
her long dark hair askew,
bewildered brown eyes
...

They do it all so dispassionately! Copy after copy
of your book - the holy of holies - all your condensed thoughts
and dreams, the tangible evidence of your blood, sweat, and, yes,
even tears, mostly shed during the sleepless midnight
...

The death toll in Iraq today
reached 10,000 American soldiers;
over one million Iraqis have been killed
since the invasion started in March of 2003.
...

When the first star appeared I went
ANYA KNEES and prayed to the Lord
to CLARA PATH through this sweltering
HEAT like a DUTCH OVEN. In the meadow
...

She rose up as an island out of
the sea,
her sparkling presence enveloping
me,
...