The Poems Go On

Pablo the Parakeet, Enjoying Some Early Pink Floyd

—Poems and Photos by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA

After a fine but somewhat late lunch
On a summer’s afternoon
I nap for a couple of hours
With Blues playing in the background.
Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf,
Son House. Like that.
Waking up later, I return to the poems
I had just been reading:
Jack Gilbert and Bei Dao.
Afternoon reaches out toward evening,
And the shadows reach across the yard,
Past the window, like a laughing child
Reaching for her father when he returns.
His day’s work was long, but honest,
And his soul is clean.
The poems go on, my life goes on,
And that child laughs and laughs.

 Troubled Poet

 

Vertigo at 61. My mind swirls.
I can hear the brightness
Of light. I can hear
The colors of this world.
Life in spin cycle.
Life in a blender.
But life it is, my friend,
So hold on.

______________

Where my wife and I walk,
The little creek has dried up for the summer,
Waiting for the promised return of winter rains.
We walk slower now, in our sixties,
Our legs contain old sloths.
These sloths are covered with algae
And blend in perfectly with the summer trees.
As we walk, our hands reach out, touch, and clasp.

 Biking in the Fog on the Jibboom Street Bridge Between

Discovery Park and Old Sacramento

Tonight you'll slip between the shadows;
An angular space where humans seldom go.
A place where the moonlight can't find you.
There is only you, just like you thought.
No one is listening, and no one is watching,
The next move is up to you. Don't think
About tomorrow, or about how things seem.
Just be the moonlight. Be the shadows.
There is only you, nothing else, and friend,
That was all you ever really needed.

 Poet in Downieville, CA at Rush Hour

A summer day. Lovely on its own.
My patio, cool with shade
And made especially nice from the jasmine scent.
Poems from Kenneth Rexroth and Carolyn Kizer.
Everything that lives, dies. That’s a fact.
All the more reason to snuggle with beauty
While we can. Love every second, my friend.
Breathe in the jasmine.

 Yes, You Are

We have descended like starlight
Across the smile of the earth.
All we have to do now
Is shine.

___________________

Today’s LittleNip:

The wife and husband
hold hands under bright moonlight.
Hard years, and good ones.

—James Lee Jobe

___________________

Our thanks to James Lee Jobe for his fine Saturday fare this morning, and a reminder that Sac. Poetry Center Gallery will host a Second Sat. Reception tonight from 5-8pm for its art show, Paradise Relief: An Invitational Art Show to Benefit the Camp Fire Survivors, curated by Bethanie Humphreys and Heather Judy. At 6:30pm: Poets (including Susan Kelly-DeWitt) will read on the show’s theme, plus open mic. 25th & R Sts., Sac. 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
Celebrate poetry!

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