Still Life With Hammer and Egg
—Poems by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA
—Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe
—Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe
A fog hangs over the flat farmland;
While watching through my window
I can hear the sound of geese above me.
Somehow this makes me sad again,
And so another long, slow day begins.
Still Life With Cups
It is still early in the Spring, yet
It is as hot as Summer.
Children in the park stare at the pool,
It won’t open for more than a month.
I am becoming an old man,
What can I do with this world but laugh?
Still Life With Apple and Pear
I will take this holy poverty to the grave
And then, if I am even remembered at all,
People can say that I was never burdened
By money. You know, some people, money
Is all they ever have, the poor bastards.
Still Life With Water
Crossing the Bridge of Dreams again,
It is very late at night—
My third attempt to go to sleep.
Walking over the river of my mind.
And it is a perfect night; clear and cool,
But not cold. A bright moon.
A few small, white clouds. Scattered stars.
I am not aware of which moment
It is that I finally close my eyes.
Still Life With Wooden Beams
It might be more fashionable not to live;
Who doesn’t love a dead, failed poet?
Still, I had a nice dinner with my family,
And it was a fine day. Lovely.
Perhaps I’ll just keep writing.
___________________
If my spell is successful
And it storms during my funeral,
Please feel free to stay home.
Be safe. Relax.
Light a candle for me,
Sip some coffee and a write a poem.
Nothing lasts forever.
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
Set sail for The Islands of Self. You don’t
Even need a boat or a map. Just sail.
___________________
Thank you, James Lee Jobe, for these fine poems and pix, and for your exhortions to keep writing!
Today is the 49th Earth Day! Celebrate it with one of the various festivals in our area, including one in Sacramento (www.seecalifornia.com/events/earthday/sacramento.html); Arts in Nature in Georgetown; and Sierra Poetry Festival in Grass Valley. Or head over to Sac. Poetry Center for Writers on the Air this morning, featuring frank andrick, Stuart Canton and Lynette Blumhardt, plus open mic, beginning at 9:30am. 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.
And click on the link below for a history of Earth Day.
—Medusa (Celebrate poetry and our Mother Earth!)
For more about the history of Earth Day, see
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
