breathe

two poems, again I’m not sure why

(x = space)

Sci-Fi Goats

Goats eat anything

I am reminded

As do pigs

I don’t think goats eat tin cans

As cartoons and other stories

Tell

But maybe

Maybe in the multiverse

Anything is possible

A metal-eating goat

On a world of lead

Might be

Just the thing

While justice of materials

Is worked out on other worlds

Not that we’re excused here

We have what we have

To use

To keep

Or we lose ourselves

Without a possibility

Of portals—

Maybe goats

They might be traversing

And we never know

Poeming

It’s not hard

But it should be honest

In challenging to write

About anything

(say, sci-fi goats, above)

What is the real story?

In not in fact,

Than in judicious metaphor

And maybe both—yes,

Both would be better

So choose the topic

Or let the topic choose

Get to work with

Heart and head,

All the muscles,

All the organs,

All the aspects

(I mean senses),

All the parts

Breathe through it all

Let the apparatus work

Once something is set down,

Go over it

And over it again

(not too many times)

Then release it like

Letting go of healed birds

Into the wild sky

Then let the work

Make sense of the world

For a while

C L Couch

Hello, Friends

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel at Unsplash

https://unsplash.com/@rgaleria

Glattalpsee, Muotathal, Suiza

November 8, 2021 0

Exhalations

Exhalations

I like the process

Glad it’s automatic

So many things can leave the body

Things we don’t need

Things in the brain stay there,

I suppose

We need exhaling in the brain

But we don’t get it

We have to learn what to keep

Up close,

What to file

The thing about a file, though,

Is that they’re not closed

For good

Mental welding doesn’t help

So open up the stacks

From time to time,

Letting air breathe through

The folders

We might need

Companionship for this

C L Couch

Photo by Elena Kloppenburg on Unsplash

June 15, 2020 0

Breathe Through It

Breathe Through It

What is it but

The wind,

Ruach, pneuma

What is it but breathing

In and out, back in

And back out again

Autonomically, thank goodness

I’d hate to have to think about it

Or blinking

Or a heartbeat

Sometimes we need a push

And then there’s oxygen

In a canister

If it doesn’t seem to work, that can

Be frightening

After a heart attack, when the EMTs

Arrive or at the hospital,

First thing it seems there’s oxygen

Pressed into the nostrils

Good thing, I’m thinking

And typically there’s nitroglycerine

(now there’s an irony in invention)

That eases the chest

And tries to split the head

Into pieces

Imitations of the spirit

All to keep us breathing

I’m thankful

Honestly, for both

The breath that keeps me going,

That takes me home

C L Couch

Photo by Alain Wong on Unsplash

Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, Canada

December 17, 2019 4

Attending Nuclei

Attending Nuclei

The spirit of God

Moves across the water

In the bathtub, not because

It’s trivial but because

It’s everywhere

Breathing, laughing, cajoling

Cleaning

As a spirit of God should

Present at creation, making

Things happen, here

And there

Inside the tree but not the tree

Taking part in everything

That’s made

And with us when

We’re washing dishes

More water

Water and air, we need them

Nothing lives without them

Except maybe anerobic cells

That might still cry out

From time to time

For a sip

Adding a speaker to

The microscope to hear

For all the cells

For all the grocery lists

For prayer at breakfast

For flat tires and new children

New cells on everyone

Everything that every second frames

Here endeth not so much

A lesson;

Here starteth—starts–a

Day of days worth knowing

Because when we want,

We find

The day and knowing it

Astounding

C L Couch

Photo by Camilo Fierro on Unsplash

December 12, 2019 4

Five Minutes Monday Morning

Five Minutes Monday Morning

Eleven fifty-five,

What’s left?

Coffee made, suburban meaning

More? Well, make a list,

Check—check the list

How much of it’s repeated?

Breathe in, breathe out

Better now the weather’s changed

Autumn’s here at last, I think

Cooler, clearer air

Or I can pretend

How much of the difference is inside?

But there’s anxiety in the pit

Well, it’s Monday morning

I used to read five-minute mysteries;

Five-minute words—I

Believe it could be worse

October 10, 2016 5

After a Few Days Away

After a Few Days Away

I drive through

A steam-filled

World

At home, more

News of dying

Both by design

And unassigned

I gather in

Headlines and

Their stories

While struggling

To breathe hot

Wet solid air

Searching for

Hope-openings

Through which

To inhale

August 4, 2016 6

Tenth Muse

Tenth Muse

Nine muses

For the Greeks,

A tenth muse

For Filipinos

And for me

Grace and gift

I aspire toward

Invocation

If paraluman

Visit and illumine

Then I shall, in

Turn, be filled

With art from

Philippine spirit

I could not

Ask for more

Than far-off

Soul-wind

Breathe on me

Word-High July: Welcome!

Maria of Doodles and Scribbles and I [that’s Rosema at rosemawrites] are more than excited to read your takes on the 30 Beautiful Filipino Words.

Write or create a post inspired or about the Filipino word prompts.
A post can be anything. A poem, a fiction, a six-word tale, or even a photo. It’s all up to you.
Linkback/create a pingback to this post: Word-High July 30 Beautiful Filipino Words. Here is a quick tutorial on how to do a pingback.
Tag your post with WordHighJuly, so your co-bloggers will be able to read/see your take on the prompt. Here’s how you create tags.
Most important of all, read and comment to your blogger friends (old and new found, we’ll never know).

HOP ON and let’s all GET WORD-HIGH this JULY!

July 18, 2016 9