9/17/2023

his flames were ten thousand degrees

kwase hasui
senjo plain 
nikko 




my body is slowly 

slowly 

   slowly wearing out 

right on time 

but not my heart

this heart is like a machine 

built with polished steel 

like a precision watch working perfectly

tick-tocks and love

watch now 

as I open my chest to present my heart 

to those who watch over the earth

watch now 

as I hold it up shining in the sunlight 

-james lee jobe 



I've just said something, but I don't really know
whether I've said anything or not.

-Zhuangzi



mother sleeps now under the dirt
it is too late to give up
and crawl back inside her
to reverse the process

father sleeps now under the dirt
he died before I was strong enough
to kill him
justice denied

when my son died
I did not put him under the dirt
it was time to break the pattern
his flames were ten thousand degrees

smoke to the sky
ashes to the earth
"sleep is a waste of time"
I said to his portrait on the wall.

james is the night slow
"yes
all of them are slow
every one of them"

james lee jobe



Every movement, every glance, every thought,
and every word can be infused with love.

-Thich Nhat Hanh



kicking hard and reaching

I finally broke the surface of the river

cold water 

right on the tongue of passing out

dying

I had gone too far 

too deep

I wasn't young and invincible any longer

in the shallows and on the banks

mothers played with children 

still too young for school

sometimes you can hold death in your arms

and no one will even notice 

a snow melt river in northern california 

still too early in the year for any real swimming

school isn't even out for the summer yet

and the river is still fast and laced with winter

early june but the water has the bite of january

in every splash 

every drop

a little girl finds something in the wet sand

"look mommy"

she holds it up in the still morning air

today I live 

-james lee jobe 






If you enjoy this blog, and I hope that you do, please consider making a donation through the BUY ME A COFFEE button below. (Not every time you come here, just maybe once in awhile.) It's done safely online, and just takes a moment. I could use the supplement since my mobility issues no longer allow me to work. Thanks!

james 


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