Your life is heavier than air.

train station    davis ca    photo-jlj 

martinez

reaching for your notebook you write out a list of your sins

in between sins you look out of the train window

you are racing through northern california at night

rolling golden hills under bright moonlight

headlights in the distance

sins done you also write out some vows

your breath is slow and even

the train pulls into a station and people are standing

struggling with the suitcases stored in overhead bins

your vows

be kind

be decent

do harm to no one

tell the truth

help when you can

do your best in all things

don't make assumptions

not ever

and finally

take nothing personally

the list seems right

you forgive yourself for your sins because you have to

the guilt is gone maybe forever

people are leaving the train

and you see your own face reflected in the window glass

"I will be decent"

you think that

or did you say it out loud

a man in the aisle is watching you

you ask him "what town is this"

"martinez" he says "we're in martinez california"

you repeat it

"martinez"

and he smiles

and then so do you

--james lee jobe 

some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts

--jim morrison 

I see a lot of 5am

nearly every one of them in fact

it's a good time to meditate 

and I do but also 5am is a fine time 

for strong coffee and deep thought

or simple thought

as often as not a poem will come 

and join me 

and then later 

after the sunrise 

the rest of life can join me 

but not before that 

life between 5am and sunrise 

belongs to me alone 

never you mind

--james lee jobe 

there's no money in poetry but then there's no poetry in money either

--robert graves

may your breath be easy

may your heart be light

may you be filled with loving kindness

may you be safe from inner and outer dangers

may you be well in body and mind

may you be at ease and happy

--adapted by james lee jobe 

a pledge of allegiance

I pledge my body 

speech and mind

to the freedom of all beings

for which we stand

one life 

interdependent

with liberty 

equality 

justice

and compassion for all

--peter levitt

granddaughter    photo-jlj

The air itself seems heavy. Suffocating. The simple act of breathing is as hard as understanding your life. Outside, the fading lights of a passing car give way to starlight. Light and dark, breathing and suffocation. Your life is heavier than air. There's the sound of footsteps, but you can't tell if they are coming or going.

--james lee jobe

autumn begins

autumn begins unnoticed

nights slowly grow longer

and little by little

clear winds turn much colder

summer's heat gives way

my thatch hut grows still

and at the bottom stair

in bunchgrass

the lit dew shimmers

--meng hao-jan   (689-740 CE)

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thanks, jlj