People will go about their usual routines.

        On Monday morning one might expect that the day will begin as it usually does. A normal day. The sun will rise in the east, and here in the Sacramento Valley that means it will rise above the Sierra Nevada Mountains that make up our eastern wall. A normal day. It’s spring, there might be some bird song, some dew. People will go about their usual routines. Coffee. Breakfast. Walking the dog. A normal day. The freeways will get crowded with the commute to work. Just another Monday. A normal day. A normal day. And I will go and pick up the ashes that were once my son. For the last time I will bring him home.

When I die, let there be wind and rain to wash away my footprints.

Dear William.

Sunshine through the dirty window.
Son, how did I sleep so long?
And now –
coffee and some poems by Martin Espada to read,
the warmth of his humanity, his words.
And my French roast.
A shower, clean clothes, my old beat up Jack Taylor sneakers;
dressed, but nowhere to go.
I get on the bike anyway and pedal downtown.
Why?
For even more coffee?
OK. The coffee shop is crowded.
I am the only person sitting alone.
I work my way through the coffee one sip at a time.
Where is my wife?
I don't know.
She told me, but I forgot.
I forget everything now.
She is at some meeting somewhere.
Maybe for a while she can forget your death.
I hope so.
Returning home, in the garage, there are those boxes
of your old things.
Clothes, Tom Waits records,
some books, some video games.
I had imagined you returning for them one day.
Gone, I would be inspired to organize the garage.
I would do something with it.
A workshop, maybe.
An art studio, maybe.
Certainly not a place to park the car.
I stare for a while and return to the house,
going in after having done nothing.
I will complete my day by doing more of the same.
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
This is your death.
And I must now find a way to continue to live.
Somehow.

James Lee Jobe

"I looked in temples, churches & mosques. 

I found the Divine within my Heart."

Rumi

Hi. James here. You can help support this blog with a small donation through the Buy Me A Coffee link. Not every time you come here. Just once in awhile. Thanks. Yo.