Let us be mindful of that which grows

Let us be mindful of that which grows and blooms, bringing life and beauty to the earth.

James Lee Jobe
02 Apr 2020
oktu

Beneath this house are the roots of an old oak tree.

Beneath this house are the roots of an old oak tree. At night, when all is quiet, I can hear these roots moving in the manner of snakes. In this way the roots bless the soil, and so the house is blessed also. Life is grand, isn’t it? Look around, even now as you read, the world is green and in bloom. 

James Lee Jobe 

02 Apr 2020

oktu

It was the moon that taught me to believe

It was the moon that taught me to believe, 
Or at least to attempt belief. The moon; 
Vast, beautiful, so close and yet so far, 
Always changing, always returning. 

James Lee Jobe
14 Dec 2019
02 Apr 2020
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I wrote a letter to the World

I wrote a letter to the World,
"Dear World, live life one moment at a time.”
It’s good advice, but...
You know the World.

James Lee Jobe
12 Dec 2019
01 Apr 2020
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Death and the world can darken your thoughts

Death and the world can darken your thoughts, 
Darken your hope. 
That’s why you must hold on to life 
And to your dreams. 
With both hands. 
Brother. 
Sister. 

James Lee Jobe 
12 Dec 2019
31 March 2020
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I have washed my hands for twenty seconds

I have washed my hands for twenty seconds
With soap and music. I have gloves to wear.
I have dreamed up a house with invisible walls
That let me see the sun and the moon and the trees,
Oh let me be trapped there for forty days
And forty nights, like Jesus in the desert.
Let me be trapped there for forty years.
Death is a glove filled with music,
And I have gloves to wear, I hear the music.
Perhaps you can hear it, too. Listen.

James Lee Jobe
31 March 2020
oktu

After the Nazis were finally driven back

Anna Akhmatova

After the Nazis were finally driven back
Anna Akhmatova read her poems to the wounded
And the dying. Although well into middle-age,
They say she was more beautiful than ever,
That she had a glow that was ethereal
And kindness was in the blue of her eyes.
Can you imagine it? The wounded heroes
Of Mother Russia filled with the rich poignancy
That leaps from the verse of the queen.

James
31 March 2020
oktu

Night arrived, right on time.

Night arrived, right on time.
Moon, but no wind at all.
Life, as still as death.
Let there be peace.
Night, like a tent, like a roof.
Moonlight, like a lantern.
Let there be peace.
Dawn is but a promise,
It is not a guarantee.

James Lee Jobe
12 Dec 2019
31 March 2020

The lone street lamp is the image of a man stranded on an island.

The lone street lamp is the image of a man stranded on an island. The quiet street is the still, calm ocean. Night. The wild Pacific. The sound of my footsteps on the sidewalk.

James Lee Jobe

11 Dec 2019

30 March 2020

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Every morning I give my parakeet and my conure fresh birdseed.

Every morning I give my parakeet and my conure fresh birdseed. They make their happy sounds and enjoy some breakfast. I also toss their old birdseed outside on the patio, where a small colony of finches then have a little feast. On both sides of the sliding glass door there are happy, well-fed birds. And me. Life is good.

James Lee Jobe

30 March 2020

oktu

Vincent van Gogh's birthday!