Windows in the Sky

The Poet

—Poems and Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA

These herbs are bitter,
And this world has a million stories.

Hands, both large and small,
Carry the water from the well.

Life,
Where are you taking me?

The sky is filled with windows,
If I can only open one, I will be free. 

 Orchard, Yolo County

All night,
My eyes strayed over the orchard,
As loyal as a dog.

All night,
The wind was a cauldron of fear.

My sorrow for a grave,
I hold you buried in my chest,
The tomb of memory.

My sorrow for a grave,
A well of evil dreams to water both of us.

All night,
Eating pie baked with your poison,
Baked with a dressing of tears.

My sorrow for a grave,
My grief for a blanket, even now.
Even now.

 Western Black Rhino

Farewell, Western Black Rhino.
Horned and rather nearsighted,
I have relatives like that. Indeed,
If one looks at just the skull,
There is a human quality there.
The Western Black Rhino, extinct.
Birds warned them when danger approached,
But in the end the dangers outnumbered the birds.
What can you do?
I wonder now if got it lonely toward the end,
With the last of the great animals wandering about,
Seeking out their kinfolk,
Just wanting to see a friendly face.
And then the final one,
The last Western Black Rhino,
Perhaps knowing the poachers were out there,
A bird screeching at the sound of human footsteps,
And the last beautiful creature just waiting,
Not even caring anymore,
Preferring death to the endless loneliness.

_______________

My friend, there are two skies in this life,
One is above, and the other is within.
You can rise up into one, or down into the other.
Or you can stagnate, and go nowhere.
It's a choice we make. I want to go down, within.
I choose to know the sky that is within myself. 

 Moon from Yolo County

238,857 miles away,
Gravity from the moon moves entire oceans.
Wipe the sleep from your eyes,
My wife.
Morning has come,
And here am I,
Moved by the gravity of you.

_______________

When I die, as everyone must, survive me with passion.
Lift your eyes from east to west, as the sun does,
And let each new day be your savior, your hero.
I will be absent at last, and tears will do me no good.
I would prefer that my heritage be more pleasant,
So remember me when there is laughter and music.
Sorrow is not your friend, but I am.
Embrace some happiness, and don't try to hide it.
Life is a transparent house, and all of the neighbors watch.

__________________

Today’s LittleNip:

Like the sky at dawn, silent and vast, let my being merge
In the timeless immensity of being alive.
I am the universe, the universe is me. 

—James Lee Jobe

______________________

Our thanks to James Lee Jobe for today’s fine poems and pix! Since his Black Rhino poem was written, the white rhino has also been declared extinct, since the last male died, leaving only two females. Period. That’s it.

—Medusa

 Celebrate National Poetry Month!
To receive a Poem-a-Day, go to 
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