The Rock Remains

Poet in the Rain

—Poems by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA

—Visuals Courtesy of James Lee Jobe

You are not poor,
Just born as a stone is born,
Without riches.

You come from a fantastic fissure in the earth,
Rock cut by giants from the skeleton of the world,
With a soul so solid it can be built upon.

What is wealth to a rock like you?

The wind that walks over all of life—
That is your wealth.

The rain itself is your gold.

The age of man will pass,
But the rock remains.

The rock always remains.

___________________

The world opens to you
And gives all of its beauty,
And you repay the world
With your own death,
Giving your body
Back to the world, to feed
The earth itself.
In this way, every thought,
Every breath is beautiful,
And so even death
Becomes beautiful, too.

Do not wonder at these troubled days
And nights of sorrow in this world.

Be scattered again in pity and fear,
Be buried in the fury of our times.

Whisper the names of mighty angels
To invoke the strength of the silent god.

May your voice accompany me in the city streets,
Your eyes lost in the winter fog, my friend.

Yes, each step is colder than the one before,
And yes, the walk is long, but you will finish it.

And there you are, wherever you must be.
Walking in the cold, one step at a time. 

You live in the branches,
Hidden by green leaves.
There is sap involved, and fruit.
Change is a slow but steady thing.
Your life is a tree.
Roots are one metaphor
And fruit is another.
Let's not go there.
Instead, let's just say this:
Your life is lovely, beautiful,
Especially in autumn. 

Go all the way down the street
And turn left when you get to Heaven.
If the gate is open, just go right on in.
If the gate is closed, you're on your own.

Rustle the rain and rustle the wind.
Write signs that send signals to the dawn.
When the music is playing, find someone
That wants to dance as much as you do.

So what if people see you talking to trees?
What you do is between you and God,
Don't stand for the judgement of humans.

Waste the morning and waste the noon,
Midnight comes and goes far too soon.
This is your life. You know that, don't you?

___________________

Today’s LittleNip:

Watch them flow into the river.
Let these tears water the trees.
The sun shines with roaring flames,
And the cool wind is like a friend.
Someday this war will end. 


—James Lee Jobe

_______________________

Our thanks to James Lee Jobe for his fine poetry and photos today! This coming Sunday at 2pm, James will host the first meeting of the Davis Arts Center Poetry Series, a new, 2nd-Sunday-of-the-month reading. This month will feature Andy Jones and Connie Post. Davis Arts is at the corner of F St. and Covell in Davis. For info, see www.facebook.com/events/168786593822952/?notif_t=plan_user_invited&notif_id=1522347877461285/.

And then next Friday, April 20th, The Other Voice Poetry Series in Davis, hosted by James Lee Jobe, goes all ‘open mic’. This is a fundraising event for the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter of Davis. There will not be a cover charge, but they will be ‘passing the hat.’ No one will be turned away for lack of funds. There will also be a book sale, mostly poetry, by good faith donation. That’s Friday the 20th from 7:30-9:30 pm, in the library of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road. Email jamesleejobe@gmail.com with any questions.

More National Poetry Month info! Sacramento's Trina Drotar writes: “There is a display at the South Natomas Library (home of Sacramento's Poet Laureate Park) celebrating National Poetry Month. The display went up on the 1st and will come down on the 30th. Crossroads Literary Series has sponsored the display, and we're changing it weekly. We've featured women poets, then art and poetry, and next up will be local poets. South Natomas Library is located at 2901 Truxel Road in Sacramento. There’s plenty of free parking, too!” 

Trina has had artwork accepted into several shows. She recently received an honorable mention award for a painting of Old Sacramento's boardwalk (when it was really wood). And an exhibit opened this week at Blue Line Arts in Roseville called, "Picture It: Portraits in Photography," and Trina has a photograph in that exhibit. Don’t be shy about letting Medusa know what you’re doing in the Arts! How can you share your work if no one knows about it?

The CSUS Festival of the Arts continues today with a poetry reading by Heather Judy, Lisa Dominguez Abraham, and Rebecca Woolston from 3-4pm in the CSUS Library Gallery. Then at 5pm, Second Sat. at the Brazilian Center on N St. in Sacramento features art by Alicia Heffington, plus a poetry open mic.

At 6pm today, CK Gallery on J St. in Sacramento presents ekphrastic poems by Indigo Moor, Jennifer O’Neill Pickering and ChaRon E. Smith (and others) in response to “Welcome to the Flower Shop”, artwork by Anthony Roberts. Also beginning at 6pm, Sac. Poetry Center’s Second Sat. Art Reception features artwork by Stanley Fureby and Rob Swenson. 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

 —Anonymous
Celebrate poetry—and Poetry Month!

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