Living

Roll around
in what is known as
               the now.

Meditation

Meditation calms me,
opens my soul
so that I feel

the heartbeat
of the universe.

(C) James Eric Watkins

“Music is religion for me.”

                     ---Jimi Hendrix

Jimi used to say that, instead of notes and the like, he saw music in feeling and in colors. He was experiencing a spirituality through his art. And anyone who has ever watched him play would most likely agree. A rare genius he was, so much wisdom in so few years of life. He, like many others from his time, is imprinted on my soul. They come alive when I listen to the music.

The Thinker

I am the thinker
some loathe my existence
some merely try to ignore it.

I say things that others
are afraid to dream of.

I am let loose on this world.
the havoc of thought I leave
in my wake lies scattered
in letters, words, and phrases
days in dazes in misplaced spaces.


(C) 2012 James Eric Watkins

Dedicated to Alex Ekstedt

To the nephew I never knew:
Happy Birthday Alex.
Daddy misses you, and mommy
Mamaw and papaw and your
Bubbies do too.

I never saw you but now
You run and play, smile, and
Dance inside my daily thoughts.

Your energy is still here
Just as you always have been
Love keeps you alive.

You Rise
to higher planes
we can only watch.

Today's Tornadoes

a noresponsive baby
found in the middle of a field
nobody knows who the parents are

our fire station was destroyed
another whole town leveled
the storm is over

we heard the half-mile wide
twister roaring in the near
distance as we prayed

for our lives and
the lives of those we love
as the trees were snatched into the air

barns and trailers
smashed. Stop signs
ripped into half

God has spun
his hands. Spinning
down upon the land

mangled pieces
of yesterday’s life
are all that remains

the radio said
that there were
more babies found

We the people
gather our dead
and cry over them

clean up the land
and wind down
from the day's events

torn

putting a life back together
is like putting together the pieces
of a photograph torn in two

you line the pieces up
so that they make sense again
and the crack that once tore
you in two becomes not
a separation, but a life lesson.