Valentine’s

(x = space)

x

x

Valentine’s

(belongs to you)

x

Valentine got famous

For correspondence;

Other saints send messages

x

Valentine left words

Of love and encouragement

As other saints have done—as

You or I have done

x

Then red and pink took over

x

Red for hearts,

Pink for I don’t know

x

Lace got in there, too:

We covered up our furniture,

Covered our piano legs

With that

x

Well, why not?

We need the colors in the winter

And red means passion,

Loyalty as well

x

While pink is fragile

As are all relationships

In part

x

Happy day for strengthening

Like exercise,

Metal in devotion

Like the metal in the jewelry

For a sign we wear

x

Happy Valentine’s

With valentines

x

Don’t force it

Or deny it:

If deny it,

Maybe do so

With a saint’s

Prudent

Contemplative quiet

x

For the rest,

Give the cake

Share the cake

Eat the cake

Enjoy refined sugar

Or have raisins

x

Or above the silence

And beneath the noise

Go slowly—pleased to

Talk it through

On or by

The sidewalks of the world

x

C L Couch

x

x

now you have a day to plan—you’re welcome

x

By Lorie Shaull from Washington, United States – Happy Valentine’s Day!, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56401542

x

Art Show

(x = space)

x

x

Art Show

x

My goodness,

It’s brilliant outside

The green has changed to red

Lit by the angles of

The sun’s afternoon

x

The larger trunks

Are tubes of transit

Moving our eyes

To the show

For which there’s no ticket

But the chilly air

(also a transiting device)

x

What is blue is blue

In the moment

Looking out and up

There is no impedance

From a cloud

Or interruption

Of a contrail

x

If there were

It would be a

Recipe’s ingredient:

Another element in

A complex design

x

It’s quiet through the window

There could be movement

But there isn’t any

Maybe to stay the moment

We may look longer

Let the silence

Stun the colors

x

Have this

As a MidAtlantic gift

Before a winter’s

Bareness calls,

Giving notice to

Another kind

Of traveling exhibit

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Steve Johnson 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

Peace, Prevail

Peace, Prevail

(for the USA and all)

 

Red leaves on trees

Against the season’s

Bright blue sky,

Branches lightened in

Late-afternoon, autumn

Sun

 

Vision of nature

Hope for a nation

 

C L Couch