Rainy Sacramento
—Poems by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA
—Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe
A stormy week here in the Sacramento Valley,
Rain on and off, on and off.
Above, in the high passes of the Sierra Nevada,
Deep drifts of snow. The bears are sleeping.
Down here, rain on the rooftop,
No finches, no crows, no owls.
And like them all, I am also laying low;
It has been days since I even went outside.
James says it doesn’t matter where you are,
It is what you do that counts.
So… back to work on these poems.
Rainy Davis
Wake up, it's morning.
Open your eyes.
Pay attention to the sky, the weather,
The phases of the moon.
That weird tree down the street;
What is it? Learn about the flora
And the fauna growing around you.
Stop taking everything personal,
Nothing is personal.
Give a break to everyone, anyone.
Try to be a help, everywhere you go.
Wake up. This is your life, right now.
Live it.
Rainy San Francisco
The rain comes again
as if you and I were a secret.
Snuggle down with me, love,
on the beaten old sofa,
And we will sip the tea
and listen to the rain fall on the roof.
__________________
What good is weeping
While turtles still crawl
Through the tall, wet grass?
What good is sorrow
When love still grows
In every fresh smile?
Rainy Sacramento River
A wind blew the rain on through, mostly clear skies now. A half-moon. Between the rain and the wind, a lot of leaves fell, my street is covered. It is cold outside in my pajamas and a hooded sweatshirt, so I don't stay long, just enough to listen to the cold wind and see the moon.
Moonlight, wind-sounds,
Wet leaves scattered like lost children—
Shivering under the half-moon.
An autumn rain has passed over,
Nourishing the earth.
(An 'Americanized' version of the Japanese form, Haibun, which mixes short prose with Haiku. Here, I mix short prose with a short poem. —JLJ)
Rainy Yolo County
A slow and perfect spring rain
Stretches out into a second morning,
And my backyard drinks it up
With no one watching but me.
The others in my home sleep late,
And won’t go out back anyway.
Nor me, but I watch from a window,
My meditation is done
And the first light of day grows.
I am quiet, sipping black coffee
And watching the rain.
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
A person with a kind heart is the sky.
A person without kindness is just the weather.
—James Lee Jobe
___________________
Thank you, James Lee Jobe, for celebrating all the “slow and perfect spring rains” we’ve had! James will be hosting the Davis Arts Center Poetry Series this coming Sunday (tomorrow), 2pm, featuring Lisa Dominguez Abraham, Shawn Pittard, and open mic.
And today, Poetic License poetry read-around meets in Placerville at the Sr. Center lobby on Spring St., 2-4pm. The suggested topic for this month is "good fortune" but other subjects also welcome. 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 (Celebrate Poetry!)
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.
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
