How Could I Not?

Fence, El Dorado County
—Poems by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA
—Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe

Li Po speaks when the wine is finished.
“My mother dreamed of a huge white star
Falling from the sky and I was born.
How could I not be a poet?
I drink the wine and watch the sky at night.
The stars are lonely, not me.
How could I not be a poet?
Last night a bird sang, it was past midnight,
And I could hear footsteps beneath my window.
How could I not be a poet?”

 Fence, Nevada County

I fear what the businessmen will do, in the end, to the Earth,
So I need stands of trees around me, to walk beneath,
To measure with my eyes and my heart. Movement
Among the limbs and branches returns me to myself.
I am grateful for that. I can sit in silence there in the woods
And also in the nearby fields, rich with this years corn
And alfalfa. Good, tilled soil with crops; that is a match
To the untamed and unchecked woods, dance partners,
Each flourishing with the strength and grace of the other.
The woods and the fields. My eyes and my heart.
The world of business has nothing on us.

 Fence, Solano County

In the dream the late actor Martin Landau wants me to fix a car
And give a poetry reading to Heather Hutcheson’s class.
What I want to do is take my clothes off and write a poem.
I keep picturing the poem in my mind, all written,
And then I forget it again because of Martin’s interruptions.
I am getting angry. I am young in this dream
And it comes to me that Heather must be a small child,
Such is the difference in our ages. Martin is now someone else
And I know that I am dreaming. I should wake up
And make a list of things to do today. It is 4 AM.
Making the list, I see that Dream James was correct;
The list is long, I would never have remembered it all.
Subconscious and consciousness have melded perfectly
Just as darkness and light meld to make a day,
To make a life. My youth and my old age come together
In a balance, my darkness and my light in a balance,
And all is well, except there is no poetry reading
Going to happen for Heather Hutcheson’s class,
And the dream car remains quite broken.

 Fence, Sutter County

Awake ‘way past midnight.
Through the long night the starlight
Lays soft across the window.
Is it any wonder that in my heart
I sometimes still feel young?

 Fence, Yolo County

Today’s LittleNip:

A word after silence; let it be Peace.

—James Lee Jobe

__________________

Thank you, James Lee Jobe, for today’s fine poetry and photos! James will be hosting a reading for the new anthology, Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California this Sunday at the Davis Arts Center, 2pm; then next Friday, Dec. 21, he will host The Other Voice in Davis at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Patwin Rd., 7:30pm, featuring five poets: Allegra Silberstein, Charles Halsted, Carlena Wike, Dorine Jeannette and James Lee Jobe, plus open mic, and taking donations to raise cash for the UC Davis Campus Ministry Winter Retreat. Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about these and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.

—Medusa

 Do Not Feed the Monkey

(Celebrate poetry instead!)

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