7/08/2024

leaving the porchlight on all night

Shotei Takahashi


it was an afternoon nap 

and i slept through a lifetime or two 

stars reached down from heaven for me like a sister 

to nudge me awake 

the milky way became my soft bed 

dreams passed through me like miracles 

is it still the same life 

or am i now another man 

waking and looking in the mirror 

i see a man that i trust 

james lee jobe



Perfect happiness isthe absence of striving for happiness.

Zhuangzi, 4th century BCE



we leave the porchlight on at night 

but i am not sure why 

no one is coming 

this light weakens at sunrise 

as if the lamp itself is tired 

from its long hours of labor 

and something in the air at dawn tastes of change 

whatever this is doesn’t require my permission 

i turn the light off and put on some coffee 

all the while the entire planet has been spinning 

as it does throughout all the years of our lives 

think of that

james lee jobe


Shotei Takahashi


You're perfect just like you are.
And you could use a little improvement.

james lee jobe



Emptiness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities. 

D. T. Suzuki



what is distance 

and what does it mean to us 

looking up on a clear day 

i see distance as being infinite 

space without end 

imagine life as immensity 

life is the universe 

just as life is us 

james lee jobe 



Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup.

Wendell Berry



Summer, and the sunbeams stream fast,
like children running in yellow shoes. 

james lee jobe



John Coltrane, 1963


Hello. James Lee here. If you enjoy this blog, and I hope that you do, please consider making a donation through the BUY ME A COFFEE button below. It's done safely online, and just takes a moment.

Thanks! -jlj 


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