—Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe
Open the gate. Let the cows roam,
______________________
I built this life, but no matter. You built yours, too; we all do. And we live together on this spinning earth under a star billions of years old, perhaps older than god. And the other stars? They are so old that by the time their light reaches us they don't even exist anymore. and when I pray, and when I meditate there is only my soul and my breath. I leave the ages for someone else to define.
Night, the shark with teeth of steel
Things fall apart. Indeed,
Hard things happen quite randomly.
What was once an ocean becomes a desert,
Flat and true.
Earthquakes move the plates of the earth
To the dismay of buildings and bridges.
The sky can strike you with lightning, wind, or hail.
Tread your path with care, friend,
And watch out for the good things that happen, too.
The flutter of a hummingbird.
The friendly nuzzle of a pup.
In the morning the light comes for us, no matter how desperate we were in the darkness of night. Even this valley has some measure of cheer when the light of a new day drapes us in warmth. How lovely, that fresh pale light. The sky, so immense, reaches from the floor of the valley to the sun. To the stars. Or so it seems. Who are we? What is that we think we know?
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
Passing clouds cover and uncover the moon, all night long their shadows move across the trimmed grass. Oh, I am so empty.
—James Lee Jobe
__________________
Good morning and good poetry from James Lee Jobe on this Saturday in December, and our thanks to him for that. James will host The Other Voice in Davis next Friday, Dec. 20, for an all-open mic beginning at 7:30pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Patwin Rd. Bring new socks, any size, for the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter in Davis.
Today, stop by Sac. Poetry Center in Sacramento, where the SPC Gallery will present “Global Sisterhood”, a new art display by Women’s Wisdom Art, from 2-8:30pm. This open house will feature an art project for all ages (2-4pm), a reading (4:30-6pm), and wine and other refreshments from 6-8:30pm. 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, celebrating the clouds that cover and uncover the moon ~
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
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