Barn Door Art
—Poems and Photos by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA
The dawn steps up. Tomorrow becomes today with a wisp of light and a stamping of hooves. The barn door swings open to the cold, damp delight of being alive for one more day. The horses walk out into the corral, and from there they trot to the pasture, knowing that they can gallop if they want to, just as they please. One mare steps up into a canter, her breath showing up like small clouds in the frosty air. Then the dawn steps up into a canter, too, and the distant sun peeks over the tops of the pine trees in the beautiful, silent woods.
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There is no hell, but driving across West Texas at night is just as bad.
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There is no hell, but driving across West Texas at night is just as bad.
Dry, empty land laid open by time and boredom.
Ghosts, lined up like soldiers in formation,
Offer songs about oil and greed.
A highway that doesn't have an end
Or even a reason to be.
Hours of driving pass and nothing changes,
You seem to be in the same place.
Every now and then you pass a sign announcing how far it is to Van Horn,
But you never get closer,
And eventually you begin to doubt in the existence of Van Horn.
There is no Van Horn, Texas, just signs.
You pull over and stop.
The dashboard clock says 4:15.
No moon tonight, or maybe not ever in this hellish land,
But there are millions of stars.
You turn off the motor and get out of the car.
You begin to walk across the hard, flat earth.
Leaky Faucet
Here. Take the knife from my hand. It is sharp, like a storm, like ice, like your father's flashing, angry eyes during another alcoholic rage. Those screams? Ignore them; everyone else does. People often pretend not to notice horror. There is an elephant in the room. And this happens all day, every day. Do you want friendship? Do you want understanding? Are you waiting for the golden light? Then take the knife. It was always meant for you. And it is waiting.
James Lee Jobe
I am on the telephone, on hold, with my doctor's office.
I am trying to set an appointment to have my brain removed,
Because I am the Vivaldi of the dream world, the astral plane.
The brain will be displayed in Visalia, California, in a glass case,
And I will then pack my head with sand or straw or rich, valley soil.
My dreams will continue to be a symphony and I will continue to write poems.
I will pull the blanket of being human up to my neck, and blink my eyes
Until I arrive on the astral plane. I think the music is starting early today.
Nails and Flowers
You
Are as naked as the Sun,
And I am a naked Mercury, the planet
That rides closest to your fire, your light.
For millions of years I have circled you,
Locked in an orbit that I will never break.
Nor do I wish to break it, I love the fire
Of you, and I love your nakedness.
So here I will stay until the very end
Of the solar system, the end of time
As we know it, living as close as I can,
Naked, locked in orbit with the power of
You.
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Today’s LittleNip:
That I may find the thread, and the strength,
To sew my heart together again.
One stitch at a time.
One stitch after another.
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Our thanks to James Lee Jobe for today’s poetry and pix! Tomorrow, James will host Davis Arts Center Poetry Series, this month featuring Susan Kelly-DeWitt and Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas, 2pm. And this coming Friday, 7:30pm, James will be hosting The Other Voice Poetry Series in Davis, featuring Katy Brown and Cynthia Linville, plus open mic. That's at the Unitarian Universalist Church library, 27074 Patwin Road, Davis. Davis.,
Today, Sac. Poetry Center Gallery will offer a Second Sat. Art Opening Reception from 2:30-8pm for its monthly offering, this time a Women’s Wisdom Art Show. There will be a Wisdom Writers’ reading from their new chapbook, Bites of Time, from 2:30-4pm, followed by a reception with refreshments, a community art project, and a raffle. Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about this and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.
—Medusa
—Anonymous Photo
Celebrate poetry!
Celebrate poetry!
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