—Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe
The blue night above the cold water of the lake.
The hot, dry wind touches this earth, this creek,
____________________
The winter. Cool and wet.
A few trees on a slight rise in this flat valley. From here they look like oaks. Nothing else around but tilled fields. Perhaps the earth just wanted those oaks to be right there.
____________________
Silent in his sorrow, he seldom mentions
His dead younger brother,
The other son.
Nights go by like years
And vice-versa, and from the other room
I wonder how he remembers
The little boy who ran down the hall
Hoping his big brother would play with him.
Under his door I often see the light
Of his computer screen
In the very late and very early hours.
He is alone, and I am alone,
And somewhere else in this house
The mother is also alone.
Start with the number one.
You were fetched to this place to count the stars.
Here, the door is open. The stars belong to you.
On the wings of magic, you can test the waters.
Take the pebble; toss it into the still pond.
Here, we love with blessed kindness.
Come into this life, everyone is ready for you.
Start with the number one.
(for Khaleesi Luna, granddaughter)
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
That all people have compassion in their lives, actively, both to receive and to share, this I pray.
—James Lee Jobe
__________________
Our thanks to James Lee Jobe for his peaceful poems on this leap-year day, and for the photos he graciously sent with them.
For up-coming poetry events in our area, scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info—and note that more may be added at the last minute.
__________________
—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.