Finches, Jasmine, & a Winter Day

 

—Poetry by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA

—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe

grasslands
a lot of it farmed
the fauna hereabouts is good
red tail hawks
burrowing owls
a few coyotes
big athletic rabbits
turkey vultures and
turkeys
a lot of bats that eat mosquitoes
herons
frogs and finches
before the Europeans came here
the center of the sacramento valley
was a big marsh
and now
the sacramento river has levees
and the rivers that feed it have dams
irrigation changed things too
and there was some forest here
before the gold-rush-era settlers
clear-cut it
wood for houses
and fields for crops and cattle
a lot of the fauna was displaced
or hunted out
and that’s too bad
this was their home
still some finches enjoy my jasmine
and i enjoy both the finches and the jasmine
there’s owls and raccoons around
location and comfort
time and change
life does go on
just a bit different

 

 

 

 

 

something
in me needs the dawn
indeed
it is rare for me
to
not be in attendance
light
graces the sky
and
kisses the darkness
on
cold days sunrise brings some warmth
and
in summer those are the coolest moments
rise
very early when i am gone
and
spread my ashes under the dawn

 

 

 

 

they
call america the land of freedom
but
over two million people are in jail
as
I write this november 22, 2020
can
you hear the cell doors when they slam shut
they
also call america the land of opportunity
but
forty million people here live in poverty
where
is their opportunity
perhaps
freedom and opportunity
are
only for some but not all
november
22, 2020
the
moon is in its first quarter tonight
and
i am free to watch it after my fine dinner
i
feel both thankful and guilty
very
guilty
and
they call america the land of equality

_________________

the
time of covid-19
everyone
on earth
should
write their own obituary
just
in case.
and
what would i say
i
jobe a poor poet
born
in baltimore 1956
had
a good life
i
loved a fine woman
and
raised children with her
lived
in a house that was ours together
i
helped her plant a garden
and
some fruit trees
i
wasn’t perfect
and
i didn't care to be
the
sun   the moon
the
stars    the sky
the
earth 
the
forests   the rivers
i
loved them all
they
entertained me    nourished me
and
i die fulfilled and content
i
hate no one
i
love many
and
i don’t mind being forgotten
in
the end we all are

 

 

 

 

 

a
winter day
sunny
and bright after a rain
still
i am getting to be an old man
and
i am cold
so
i sit wrapped in two small blankets
while
I read the 1300-year-old poems of tu fu
one
blanket is across my lap
and
the other is over my shoulders
the
first one was made for me by friends
at
a time when I was very ill
and
the second was made by my wife
the
sunlight brightens the room
just
as the people in my life brighten me
and
tu fu’s poems stand the test of time
that’s
enough

__________________

Today’s LittleNip:

change
can be a subtle thing
and
you can learn a lot from your changes
the
sacramento valley is a fine teacher
but
the lessons are very slow in coming
you
only get a little every day
the
curling of a leaf
a
scent on the wind
subtle
changes for your education
you
have to be sure not to miss any classes

—James Lee Jobe

__________________

—Medusa, with thanks to James Lee Jobe for bringing us his fields and finches, brightening up a winter day in the Sacramento Valley! Big athletic rabbits?

 

 

 

—Public Domain Photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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