courage

(x = space)

x

x

courage

(compash)

x

the brave leaves

are in fact

leaving;

the wind has done its work

there is inescapability

in the season passing

if I wrote useless things

upon electronic leaves

perhaps my season

will be passing, too

x

it is a pledge, I guess

the old word tontine

a formal offering

to work

to put down

to express

to depict

to make my painting here,

unfit for a museum

maybe for local work

the verses in the subway

a slogan on a placard

should I reach

and arrive so far

x

like glory in the sky

parochial sky

parochial of one

should I hear myself

out there

constructively

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by jeremy bishop on unsplash

x

haiku (3) after Hallowtide

(x = space)

x

x

haiku (3) after Hallowtide

x

x

seasons ending in

new seasons beginning to

take hold then let go

x

x

red leaves like children

bright and shiny always changing

into something else

x

x

evergreen until

needles wither due to lack

of water and air

x

x

C L Couch

x

x

Red of Fall

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

x

See the Chill We Feel Outside in Fall

(x = space)

x

x

See the Chill We Feel Outside in Fall

x

I was out past midnight

When I left the store

I saw my breath in vapor

A little cloud

The first time in the season

x

Our fall has been too warm

But in the night

Beneath the parking spots

Outside the entryway

To Rutter’s

There was something

x

Evidence of exhalation

I am breathing

So are you

Breathing through

The midnight hour

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Tanya Pro on Unsplash

Pechersk, Kyiv, Ukraine

x

The Latest

(x = space)

x

x

The Latest

(family things)

x

My brother’s in the hospital

I’m not sure what that means

He fell

I know that much

He spent the night outside,

Which I think must mean

There’s trauma

x

A body worked too hard

A body with cancer worked too hard

A neighbor saw him in the morning

And called 911

He’s hundreds of miles away

And he’s in the hospital

In downtown Pittsburgh

My sister says the hospital is good

Urban, smart, efficient

x

Everyone knows their jobs

And what to do for him

x

Now we know

We’re standing by

Something will happen

And we’ll all come in

It doesn’t have to take an ending

He simply needs to be in one place

Or another

For a time

x

What contemporary medicine allows

And Medicare affords

A rehab center

For new fractures

While his cancer’s tended

And he

And everyone

Must deal with that

x

We’ve been out there

When and where shall we go now?

x

I’ve rattled all this off

Because

I don’t know how to be ready

For what’s next

I wish I had resources

Of all kinds

x

Family things

Obviously

Certainly (to push on

the conceit) I don’t mind

If you know

x

If you pray,

Maybe you’ll pray

I believe the power in that

God bless him

And help us all

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Marcelo Leal on Unsplash

x

Rhapsody on Umber

(x = space)

x

x

Rhapsody on Umber

x

Orange

Nothing rhymes with it

(I’ll try syringe

sometime,

hydrangea-a?)

Who cares

In the better way

It’s wonderful

And add a little brown and yellow

Is that burnt umber

The lost crayon?

x

But it’s just

Right for fall

Add red on its own

For leaves

And all the shades

For possibilities

Cast them under clouds

On a cool day

When walking

In the countryside

Is right

A quiet celebration

A season in the season

If you live around

Here

If not,

In the mind then

Or online

x

It’s fall

The very best Pooh weather

There should be

Tea and honey

For Christopher and friends

The roly bear

The donkey with the usually tail

Mama kangaroo and child

Tiger with springs

An owl of storied wisdom

As far as a child’s genius go

Long-suffering rabbit

And the pig

Small

Always counted on

Like needful stories

To be there

x

thanks for A. A. Milne and to my mom who really liked the stories

x

C(hristopher Robin) L Couch

x

x

Photo by Valentina Ivanova on Unsplash

Ukrainian Village, Чикаго, Иллинойс, США

Published on October 19, 2021

x

Sleeper Awake

(x = space)

x

x

Sleeper Awake

x

It’s 69 degrees

(Fahrenheit)

At (twelve-oh-five, we say)

12:05

x

Fall arrives

And hobbits,

The birthdays

Of the Bagginses

x

New season

With an equinox

Autumnal

To complement

The vernal

By a half,

Half a year,

Half a world

x

We tilt into another

And existentially

A new one

x

We have not had

Today

Or this changing

Of the Earth

Around 11

Post-meridian

x

Here is the same season

As a new one,

New seconds

Newly breathed

Into hours

And an age

Collectively

x

Spring to the south,

Autumn

To the north where

Where there

Might be dragons

In their lairs.

Then

We bring in cold air

And awaken them

x

We think fall

Might be the readiness

For freezing,

Sleeping winter;

And yet

(like new school years

for young ones

and for teachers)

Here and now

The adventure,

The quest

Might begin

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Hans Isaacson on Unsplash

x

Mortal Timing

(x = space)

x

x

Mortal Timing

x

It’s cool today

Thank goodness

I am thankful

I guess I can’t haiku this

No artful three-line

Praise

Or only observation

Out of nature

Yet nature should be thanked

We are lucky in this hemisphere

Just now

North enough

And south enough

(ecumenically)

Praise fall’s invocation

Of bright colors

Praise the God

Who shows us grace

With autumn

x

Someday

The seasons mesh

Their virtues celebrating

All together

How trees will bear fall colors

While serving new life below

As spring

And summer

Under winter’s cover

We don’t know

(maybe there will be quarters of

seasons’ perfection)

But it is heaven

And new Earth

And these miracles will work

Like clear gold

In the streets of

New Jerusalem

x

C L Couch

x

x

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each made of a single pearl.  The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

Revelation 21:21

x

Photo by Steven Cordes on Unsplash

x

This Autumn Morning

(x = space)

x

x

This Autumn Morning

x

Gray with

A patch

Of red

Inside black

Branches

Red leaves

Attached

Maybe until

A winter wind

Comes to

Take them

Through the

Air until the

Breath’s expired

Then gravity

Must have

Its way and

Like the roots

We can see

And-or touch

Must lie upon the

Earth

And inside

For a while

x

C L Couch

x

x

Joshua Tree National Park

Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash

x

Slight Season

(x = space)

x

x

Slight Season

x

The sun is out

I should be going to it

There might be chill

It might be fall

At last

Not too soon to winter, please,

Which is the trouble

With the seasons in-between

Their timing seems so fragile

When

Arriving

Surprising, when it seems

They stay a good, long while

Leaving the severities

To themselves

And their own time

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Jana Shnipelson on Unsplash

x