Time is the Flame

—Poetry by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe

It takes more than wings. There is a will to be lifted, there is a sky that is inside of us. Released to the day, there is flight, a life on wings. The sun and the moon are the taste of life with beauty, which is why they live among the stars. Freedom is a cold, cold thing, far above the pull of the earth. Here the wind whistles of immortality, we will never fall.

This is a day that holds grief and anger, yes, but also love. Also kindness. All things come to an end, and so will this day. Of the things we know today, what will we carry with us into tomorrow? This is our choice.

My sister is slowly melting away, a little at a time, like the wax from a candle that I left burning all night. A hip melts, then the other, and then a shoulder, an arm. A thousand miles away from me the drops of her wasted body hit the cold floor. I light a candle for my sister to melt as she melts. Time is the flame.

The bullets don’t especially frighten me, but the years do. To fade away through all of the Februarys and all of the Julys, the wounds worsening and the aches spiraling upward until decrepitude rules my days? A horror. Better the bullets. Better the lightning strike, the avalanche, the plane crash. Death is no enemy to me, but life sometimes is.

If I could hold the rain in my arms the way that I once held my child I would not need these poems. I would then show my love to each and every raindrop as they fell. I would open my arms to the wet sky.

_______________________

Today’s LittleNip:

The dead of COVID-19, all in one teardrop. Immense grief this morning, with my coffee. Both are bitter, and I cannot put either one down.

—James Lee Jobe

_______________________

Good morning, and thanks to James Lee Jobe for his thoughtful poetry and photos this morning! James has made some changes to his blog, with a new look, more content, links to more poetry, poetry news, and some poetry links, too. A lot of Zen thought and quotes, some photos and art. Check it out! That’s james-lee-jobe.blogspot.com/.

And don’t forget Fridays, 7:30pm: Video poetry readings on Facebook by Davis Poet Laureate James Lee Jobe at james-lee-jobe.blogspot.com or youtube.com/jamesleejobe.

Tonight from 7-8:30pm, 916ink (www.916ink.org) presents Not Literary Nights: a Virtual Night of Words and Whimsy to benefit 916ink and their literary work with disadvantaged youth. Info and tickets: www.facebook.com/events/291502022276566/.

_______________________

—Medusa

 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.

Would you like to be a SnakePal?
All you have to do is send poetry and/or
photos and artwork to
kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world, including
that which was previously-published.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!