summation

(x = space)

x

x

summation

x

its been a day and i havent told you anything ive been in pain and there has been some amelioration through being still and water food when I was hungry

x

ive been praying prayers as time rick goes by for welcome home to those whove died healing for those in hospital or in pain for reasons that take us other places or simply to the heart and mind and spirit of a promise

x

now the day is over night has drawn nigh to paraphrase another older song more sleep for you less pain for you more health in the morning or reverse that if you work at night third shifting

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by gilberto parada on unsplash

x

Nearing Full

(x = space)

x

x

Nearing Full

x

The moon is yellow

The sky is blue

The clouds are silver

The stars are white

The branches have no color

Except the color

Of porch lights

x

It’s late again

The air is cool

Maybe in the fifties

Maybe forties,

Which is not so special

As a sign of autumn

In October

In these parts

But the days and nights

Have been too warm

Now the season

Is announced

x

We’ll have the chilly fall

And with the drop

To cold

At a propitious time

Beautiful leaf colors,

True

Autumn review

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Eleanor Brooke on Unsplash

x

Prayer Starting Day or Night

(x = space)

x

x

Prayer Starting Day or Night

x

God keep us

This day

Or night

Through everything

God keep the family

As families

Arranged or redesigned

But families

x

Teach and affirm

Our hopes

Our plans

If you speak to us

In dreams

As Joseph dreamed

And Joseph

The magi

Several saints

Then offer clarity as well

The humility

The dare

In hearing from you

And then acting

After

x

Who knows your will

But we must know

Your will

We have your words set down

Help us to study

To inform our prayers

Enlivening the prayers

That do not change

x

Lord, love us

Forgive us

Save us

And spirit us

So that

We might not be led into temptation

We might dwell with you

As is said

And offered

Invited

Forever

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash

x

Wednesday Diagnosis

(x = space)

x

x

Wednesday Diagnosis

x

I’ll see the doctor today

At 2:20

A friend will drive me there

The pain is sharp

And then it’s dull

The dull kind, naturally enough,

Harder for persistence

Making

Night

Difficult and ongoing,

Rest made into

Dreamless chore

x

But one thing I have forgotten

In sharing what is going

On with me,

And that is to ask of you

How are you?

What’s happening with you?

I hope that you are well

And having a fine day

x

I had a student

Who entered buoyantly

Each Wednesday day,

It’s hump day! she would cry

Each time

And now I think of her

Each time

x

C L Couch

x

x

A ball of energy with electricity beaming all over the place.

Photo by HalGatewood.com on Unsplash

x

toward summer sun gods

(x = space)

x

x

toward summer sun gods

x

early morning, and

I think

the sun and I

shall track each

other through

the day

x

I slept in fits

and starts but

have blood tests

this morning

(ongoing diagnosis)

and should not

miss them

simply because

I’m tired

x

I’m sure you understand

x

hello, day,

let’s give it a go: a

fourteen-hour

treasure hunt

calling us

toward riding,

running, or pedestrian

pursuits

for pleasure and

for profit

x

then we shall

set

together into night

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by Olya /Voloshka on Unsplash

x

Devotionism

(x = space)

x

x

Devotionism

x

I talk with God

God talks back

Sometimes through

The trees,

As happened last night

When I went out

Encountering a roar

From a single tree

Near the garage,

A tree that always

Reaches

x

With the wind,

Maybe someone

From someone

Wanting to take notice

Of the night

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Florian Hesse on Unsplash

Vegårshei, Norway

x

Ancient Chores

(x = space)

x

x

Ancient Chores

x

I imagine

Standing vigil

Is no fun

To be a soldier

On the wall

Even with peers

And a fire

In a brazier

Now and then

x

Maybe we

Call out the hours,

Which could keep

Us alert

In counting time

And I guess

The fires should be

Shielded away

From away

So that we might

Look out upon the field

To suss what

Might be stirring

x

But then

Comes the dawn

We are there

For the arrival,

Change in shift

Maybe change in orders

x

And is this

Holy, set apart

For godly purposes?

Does God arrive

In the dawn,

Apollo in a chariot

As our neighbor

Greeks might say?

x

Well, I should

Head back to

The space in which

I live

When I’m at home

x

This duty’s

Not so bad

Even as I wonder

Where is God

If in the sun

Or the chill wind

That blows

As if

Another wind

Had never

Crossed the yard

Before

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Alex Plesovskich on Unsplash

Marrakesh, Morocco

x

While in Mariana’s Grange

(x = space)

x

x

While in Mariana’s Grange

x

Hello, day

It’s been a night of wakefulness

Then I drifted off

Onto waters of forgetfulness

Except for dreams

That now I’m here

I am forgetting, too

x

But here’s remembrance:

I’m waking up

To what I left

And whom

There is no ignorance

Everything returns

I must learn again

How to contain

In flesh

Everything I bear

And had left

Only for a while

For angels lifting up

And demons bearing down

x

C L Couch

x

x

Mariana in the Moated Grange

John Everett Millais

painting dated 1851

the image is in the Public Domain

the painting hangs in the Tate in London

x

The Loft

(x = space)

x

x

The Loft

x

If quiet into night

I send a word or two words

Or more

Through breath,

Then you might hear me

So that we might turn, at last,

Toward each other

x

I’d say all prayers are done

Except the kind that praise

And ask for nothing else

x

C L Couch

x

x

湖州市, 湖州市, 中国

Night View Mountain

x