my animal skin fits so tight

dawn and the stranger
I prefer to rise before dawn when the airÂ
is cool and the light is thin   and the musclesÂ
of night finally relax   often my dreamsÂ
are still with me   and I wonder if I should whisperÂ
them to you but I never do   I put these dreamsÂ
now slender things   into a box   and I placeÂ
the box on a shelf    this shelf holds many boxesÂ
each containing more dreams than the oneÂ
beside it   and so the dawn passes   you rise
later than me    and I say nothing exceptÂ
for a slight greeting   no more than oneÂ
would say to a stranger passing in the streetÂ
james lee jobe
We can aspire to be kind right in the moment, to relax and open our heart and mind to what is in front of us right in the moment. Now is the time. If there's any possibility for enlightenment, it's right now, not at some future time.
Pema Chödrön
in the skin of the beast
at times I take off this man skinÂ
and slip on the skin of a beast   my beast Â
why   so that I can run with the packÂ
and swing through the treesÂ
and fly just above the treetopsÂ
fast and dangerousÂ
and I huntÂ
I swoop  I claw   I biteÂ
my jaws  my beak   my talonsÂ
and my animal skin fits so tightÂ
there is no room for mercyÂ
you'll probably never see me that wayÂ
but if you ever do   you better moveÂ
you better runÂ
james lee jobe
The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows.Â
D. T. Suzuki
Sins are not brands, and we are not cattle. Forgive yourself. Start again.Â
james lee jobeÂ

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james