
I Can’t Say Bye Yet
What can I say
knowing tonight
is your last night
unless
a miracle appears
The doctors
unplugged
life support
You are talking
holding my hand
giving me hugs
What is on your mind
no, no
I should not
ask
You are fighting your war
the cancer
attempted to
take over
& tonight
the experts say
will be your
final bye
to life as you
have known it
I pray for
a
miracle
that only
we can
believe for
(Jim Wortham, March 4, 2022)
I will remember our long deep kisses
She tells me
“I know your age
but for me
your age is only a number”
This happens
occasionally
I am gracious
and thank them
for their sincere
compliments
I can’t really say this to them,
but you are in your 20s
and you
will change your mind
I may be able to keep up
with dancing
watching movies
and having fun
but what you don’t realize
I’m on a rapid ride that
you do not want to
take with me
My face still looks good to you
but in 10 or 15 years
you will refer to me
as your older brother
or father
Thanks for the dances
we’ve had &
thanks for the
long deep kisses
I’ll never forget
Buses don’t stop here anymore
I depended on &
knew the times
buses would
pass by
buses going to all kinds of places
to work
to gatherings
to visit lonely people
to friends’ homes
places to eat
I bought a car
never needed a bus again
until I became disabled
no longer able to drive
Now buses
don’t come by anymore
there are no places I go
and no people to visit
(Jim Wortham, January 30, 2022)
Do it another day
It seems
each day I will do it . . .
you know, I mean
those items on a list
those things that need to be done
but you just don’t have
to do the tasks
yet
so days go by
weeks go by
I’ll tell you these things
are not fun to do
or I would do them
I’m wondering when
the right day will come
and if I will know
it’s the right day
to complete all those things
on my lists
A Freezing January Nite
I wonder on zero degree nights like tonight
why I gave up my jobs
to live from my writing
This year has been the worse
Editors want submissions sent by
PDF files
and I’m stuck in the days
where I mail typed manuscripts
with a return stamped envelopes
in case of it being rejected
I’m making enough for dollar store food
and keeping a heater on
Winter won’t last forever
but I’m not returning to work
I’ll remain in this worn-out house
and grow plants to eat in the spring
I’m waiting for that big day
soon to come
(I hope)
of becoming discovered
by a big publisher
making me a household name
in the writing world
(Jim Wortham, January 28, 2022)
Snow & Ice in Janauary
Having lost my home
and belongings
betting in the stock market
Each day & night
I look for a warm place
During the days
there are stores
to shop in
sometimes getting a candy bar
and drink
During nights
I go to an old falling down
house– no one has lived in
for years
I keep my belongings there
and an old but warm
sleeping bag
I’m taking a day and night
at a time
Time

The Forgotten Poet
Will I be given a second chance?
My life as a poet ended in 1978
when I stopped writing
Book sales had declined
I was sleeping on park benches
Eating leftover food from restaurants
Once I wrote 17 books of love poetry
Through the years I met many
who bought my poetry books
For years letters have arrived
from readers wanting to connect
Now it seems the lights are turned off
Until recently
Now I receive requests
from new readers
wishing to visit me
I welcome their visits
Age does not seem to matter
I don’t look as good as I once did
But my heart is still as young
I receive kind letters from
Sweden, Canada, France, and England
Friendships have flourished
Many readers from the states
have visited
We dine and chat with easy laughter
I notice sales of my books increase
when they return home
and show my poetry books to friends
bookstores and libraries
Maybe once again
it will be like when I was in my
20’s and 30’s
Back then I lived from
the sales of my poetry books
It may be happening again
thanks to my being open to visitors
I never believed this could happen
but a lady named Gypsy Mercer
published 4 of my books
during the past 2 years
and then magic happened
It created unbelievable sales
I once dated a beautiful girl named Gypsy
She knew how to do magic
Yesterday, an 82-year-old man wrote me
to say he read my four new books
He said I made memories of his youth
come alive making memories return from his youth
He had bought all 4 books and said
he was sending them to me to autograph
So you might be asking
am I getting rich from book sales?
Almost, I am able to buy cheese, crackers & wine
I am happy
My books are now once again selling
why i write bad poetry
I got this letter today
okay, I’ll level with you
I’ve received many letters
over the years
more than 27
English professors
saying my poetry is
just plain bad
cause I don’t rhyme
and don’t know how
a poem is constructed
I write back
and say I don’t like
my poetry either
I tell them
I never had a poetry class
I was taught by
friendly bums
with teeth missing
sitting on the benches
in front of my local
Louisville Public Library
these bums shared
poems they wrote on
torn paper sacks
saved from buying liquor
They shared their secrets
how they wrote notes & poems
as we shared liquor
& passed the bottle
back and forth for sips
we laughed at their poems
they taught me all
I needed to know
these 27 (or more) Professors wrote
basically the same words:
“STOP PUBLISHING POETRY BOOKS!”
(the professors even write
“no wonder we can’t get
students to enjoy poetry”)
I tell them
I can’t stop myself
It’s just what I do
I write bad stuff
like car mechanics
and plumbers
who say they fixed
your problem
charge you money
for
services
and you discover
nothing was ever
fixed for more
than one day
I ain’t that bad
I refund money
if a reader
does not like
any book I write
now that I’m thinking
about it
I’ve never
had a poetry book
returned
It did not last long
at the beach
kisses lingered
for days
did you think
like I did
you were
my soul mate
one day
months later
you disappeared
all this time
i thought
we had forever
love
(December 28, 2021)