cast off the shadow and rise
Late, late, late at night. No sound but the northwind. Oh life, how wide is the universe?
-jobe
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.
-Marcus Aurelius
'For The Hog Killing' by Wendell Berry:
The air is here to encase your lungs in love, and the earth exists so that you have a place to make your stand. Your skin is across your bones because your heart is boundless, and friend, your heart can expand to cover the universe. Your skin keeps all of your joy contained in one place, here, where you need it. Even the horrors that you endure exist to open the door to the blessings. Everything can be a blessing; you live and breathe, your mind is gifted with sight, you are one with all that is. Cast off the shadow and rise. Now.
-jobe
To read a poem is to hear it with our eyes; to hear it is to see it with our ears.
-Octavio Paz
A mountain might block a river, but in the end it will not matter. The river will cut through the mountain, or go around, or simply change direction entirely. Thich Nhat Hahn said, “Go as a river.” If you don’t mind, I think I will.
-jobe
Did you know that Pablo Picasso was also a fine poet?
the morning of the world
i have a face cut from ice
a heart pierced in a thousand places
so to remember
always the same voice
the same gestures
and my laughter
heavy
as a wall
between you and me
the ones who are most alive
seem the most still
behind the milky way
a shadow dances
our gaze climbs toward the stars
-Pablo Picasso
I do not seek. I find.
-Pablo Picasso
When Picasso was a small boy in school they let him do whatever the hell he wanted to do. Even at 6, 7, 8 years, they already knew what he was. It was just that obvious. Picasso was prolific. At his death there were more than 45,000 unsold works in his estate, comprising 1,885 paintings, 1,228 sculptures, 3,222 ceramics, 7,089 drawings, 150 sketchbooks, many thousands of prints, and numerous tapestries and rugs. That’s just the unsold stuff. He had been selling his art since he was very young. He became very wealthy. Sounds like he earned it. (-jobe)
When I was young, the world was small and I was large. Life revolved around me. Now I am getting old, the world is large and I am small. I revolve around life. To exit is to change, like the leaves of a tree. Yes, like the leaves of a tree.
-jobe
Long Nights - a poem by Jenny Xie
Christmas on the Border, 1929 - a poem by Alberto Ríos
Cast off the shadow and rise. Pretend that you’re Lazarus of Bethany, cold in your tomb, and Jesus has called out to you. Time is passing, faster every single day, and guess what? We’re not getting any younger. There is evil afoot. Let’s squash it, like dogshit beneath our garden boots. We can get the hose and wash the boots clean again. The garden is ours.
Thanks for reading the book of jobe. Thanks for you support.
-jobe
