—Poetry by James Lee Jobe, Davis, CA
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of James Lee Jobe
Every morning the sweet light of a new day tops the Sierra Nevada Mountains to my east. At dusk the day slips off behind the Vaca Mountains to my west. In between the sun graces the Sacramento Valley, the farms, the cities and towns, and the beautiful river. And me as well. The warmth of a day. My life in the gold of the light. My gratitude.
I criss-crossed the continent without any plan at all. I took buses, I hitch-hiked and walked. I even hopped a couple of freight trains. After that I never again wondered why geese migrate, or where the wind goes.
Look, Sister, sundown walks slowly in summer, darkness creeps out first from the shadows of plants, a little at a time. Shadow lengthens from under the lavender, the rosemary, the anise. Over a sultry stretch of minutes and hours shadow meets shadow and connects. The Mulberry joins in this skulking carpet, low, as does the Crape Myrtle, the redwoods. Once darkness covers the yard, the sky then flickers a burnt red, a glowing orange, long dashes of purple slash the western heaven. The magpie grows quiet, then night swims in over all this world, ebony, shimmering, soft.
Death is that moment the river of your blood flooded and rose so high that it covered your name. Your name washed away in a river of blood. How about that? Life is that moment when you choose to toss away your name without replacing it, and just go on like that, nameless. That’s a good way, too. Be nameless, be empty. Friend, when your flood recedes, when the moment passes, try just to breathe. Try to be present in the moment. Your life is your own. And any moment could easily be your last.
A basic human need, that next breath. We want it, we need it, just as we need love. But if COVID-19 comes to take me, let me go. I want that last breath to be on my own, without a ventilator, without being knocked out on drugs. Awake, and giving back the gift. By choice.
Today’s LittleNip:
A cup of coffee begins life as some beans. This delights me. A brew of beans. Hot water and a plant from the earth herself to start my day. And good morning to you, too.
—James Lee Jobe
__________________
Good morning to you, too, James Jobe, and to the rest of us as we inch into October! Don’t forget Fridays, 7:30pm, with Video poetry readings on Facebook by Davis Poet Laureate James Lee Jobe at james-lee-jobe.blogspot.com or youtube.com/jamesleejobe.
__________________
—Medusa
Lotus in the Night
—Public Domain Photo
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!
