White Out

(x = space)

x

x

White Out

x

There was hardly any winter;

Now I am nostalgic

x

As I get old

The immediacy of snow

Has sometimes frightened me

x

Am I ready?

(knowing I’m not ready)

x

But now I miss the falling

And the settling

x

Not the extremes, of course,

Or the extremes of heat in summer

But enough that says

Winter is allowed

In our land

x

And I might walk in it

Again

x

So I’m learning, still

(so are you):

I hadn’t thought more generally

And with some surprise

That the bildungsroman

Has never

Finished

x

It goes on bildung-building

(education)

And as roman

A story

Of many chapters

Or a song with many stanzas,

Key transitions,

D. S. to the coda

For life is repeated

Many times,

It seems

Or even improvised

x

And of Shangri-La philosophy

(moderation in all things)

Maybe the winter

Shall return

With some climatic glory

And less (less) fearfulness from

Me

And should anyone

Who feels this way

x

x

C L Couch

x

Photo by Mark Rabe on Unsplash

x

haiku (more)

(x = space)

x

x

haiku

x

1

slow nature inside

plants grow in unsure seasons

ours darkness or light

x

2

unsurely outside

winter by a calendar

summer another

x

3

creature on a branch

cardinal or squirrel set

then fly or skitter

x

C L Couch

x

x

(like those earlier, these haiku can relate to each other, though I doubt there is a rule about connection; or each haiku may stand alone, which I guess is more traditional)

x

Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash

x

Précis for Aurora

(x = space)

x

x

Précis for Aurora

x

It’s winter

And it’s likable

Because

It’s cold outside

But there isn’t snow

Or ice or slush

Or such upon

The ground;

My car is clear

Should I need it,

And the sun is rising

Making the branches

Look like

Black arms with points

Reaching out,

Beseeching something

And I’m sorry

But I don’t know what

x

What does nature need

But to exist

And have oxygen and room

For existence

And some growth?

We could help

Or get in the way;

We conquer nature

So we think

To have our grand

Plans realized

For things above,

Below

The water table

Or some other

Primordial impediment

x

Do we cooperate

I wonder,

Ever:

Do we like our trees

And clouds

And ground and stones

And deeper things

Or

Are they only things

In the way?

x

We have a dominion

Theory,

Saying that

We are in charge

Of all of it

The flora and the fauna

And everything

That doesn’t move

Until cracks in the ground

Or volcanos

Dictate; I’m not sure

How our commission goes

Should we be

Evaluated—what kind

Of grade would

Watching angels

Grant us?

x

I say all this

Because it’s early

And the trees along

The street

Must manage with

Vehicular traffic;

The cars and trucks

Are noisy

While the trees

Are quiet (no wind

to show a

protest, either)

x

I wish you well today

And us

Us together,

Since the CO-2 and

O-2 arrangement

Keeps us going

And we are ruining

The Amazon

And I don’t know

How we’re doing

On Main Street

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Renting C on Unsplash

x

(I actually do live on Main Street; maybe you do, too)

x

Live from Punxsutawney

(x = space)

x

x

Live from Punxsutawney

x

Knob

Hollow

Gobbler

Turkey

Groundhog

Burrow

A manufactured life

Goes on tour

Speaking engagements

What is its thesis?

Moved in a cylinder

Men in hats

With groundhog faces

Thousands and thousands

I guess they have

Places to stay

TV, computer cameras

How it can it not

See its shadow?

Phil is not that accurate

Need we wonder

Why

Enjoy the day

Laughter

Celebration

Into spring

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Ralph Katieb on Unsplash

Groundhog didn’t like the late April snow (she was in the middle of nest building when it hit).

x

to an unknown god

(x = space)

x

x

to an unknown god

(acts 17:22-23)

x

the cars hiss outside

like snakes complaining

we had a storm

another might be coming

aren’t we always

in between

we can sleep

only through so much

and then must wake

if only to the aftermath

but then in earnest weather

we’d have been up

to take care of things

before the blow

the pounding of the fists

and stentor breathing

of an angry god

who cannot forgive

our not knowing its name

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by raychel sanner on unsplash

gathering storm over kansas.

x

note (c. f. earlier notes)

the computer’s back, I guess; if so, I’m thankful (thankful for the nonce, anyway)

merry eve before the eve

x

the winter of our contretemps

(x = space)

x

x

the winter of our contretemps

x

hello winter you are

welcome on a sunny day

in a few weeks

maybe not so much

when the cold has settled in

for a while

x

but then

the torrid in the summer

has its problems too

and we are headed there

and then when there

we shall return

by nature

x

a cycle

a circle

the top of an ellipse

and do the arches rise

with ages of experience

x

we seem to be stuck

in consideration

of annihilation

as the theme

and hidden ways

to prosper anyway

is it the zenith

or the nadir

how far do we have to go

to either

are we the zenith

or the nadir

x

we have this season

and the end of one

hello

goodbye

a cosmogony

fit for captain spaulding

because

hello we must be going

x

winter season

winter spices

wintry mix

(wintry salad)

wintry is the word

a descriptor for

three months to start

to tilt the other way

x

enjoy skiing

and snow people

and all the things we make

with what is

temporary

‘til the sun returns

or with time

the wind passes over

x

pleasure below freezing

snow angels

snow ice cream until

chemistry

became

our condensation nuclei

x

white on white

and satin dark

the stars will blink

though it’s our atmosphere

winter in our breathing

the steam we make

the challenge

of the next breath

go inside

make sure

for everyone

there are insides

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by kristaps ungurs on unsplash

x

some of the connection

has returned (c.f. my last note, prior entry)

how much

and how much will last?

the new part has not arrived

and will it fix

the device and the process?

I’ll be

of course

letting you know

thank you

happy winter

x

the sadness before separation

(x = space)

x

x

the sadness before separation

x

fall will turn to winter

after the letting go

don’t go away

I must

there are things for me

on the other side

and I am called

I have been suffering

all that will change now

x

this is what to feel for now

the sadness before separation

it’s easier to say

for now

x

the greater pain is coming

the confusion of mortality

the letting go

x

c l couch

x

x

image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay

x

Thoughts on Solstices

(x = space)

x

x

Thoughts on Solstices

x

I don’t know why the dying year

Is appealing

Maybe because we know

That dying isn’t death

And we contemplate the process

And be glad when the reversal

Starts

Like knowing that our skin cells die

Then are replaced

It is a cycle we can contemplate

As well

x

The Earth will start to turn

To favor night,

Which will take six months or so

The zenith with the sun

In the north

Is June

The nadir in December

If we have fires now

(because it’s June),

They will be for celebration

The fires in December

Are made with archetypal fear

x

The easy fires will be back

We’ll cook on them

Not worry what they’re

Driving away

(the winter subjects)

And what they attract

Except for insects

That, though they are numerous,

Have cycles so much shorter than

The ones we own

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Kenrick Mills on Unsplash

x

Days of Ice and Fire

(x = space)

x

x

Days of Ice and Fire

x

My goodness, there are days

And days

So many days in winter

Solstice, Christmas, Saint Stephen’s

New Year’s,

Epiphany

Saint Brigid’s (Imbolc)

Groundhog Day

(Candlemas

more so in the world)

Lunar New Year

All the other new years

x

We hope for weather

Hope for seeds

Hope for good crops in spring

Hope for spring itself

A good one,

Only wet enough

x

For these hopes,

Having days

And nights

Lighting bonfires

Singing against the cold

Even white madness

In some parts

While in the south,

It’s summer

(we’d only have to look

there

for our hopes)

There are other days

At other times

But winter draws in many,

And they overlap

As cultures,

Folklores

(these days conveniences)

Decide

x

We need the hope

We call it SADS to treat

(and must)

But in the old

Of old

It was the awful gathering

(full of awe)

To light the fire

Sing

And hope for more

x

To sacrifice, perhaps

Or otherwise negotiate

Life on the season’s

Other side

Bargained fearfully

With god

And god

So many gods

Before we thought

We knew

x

C L Couch

x

x

photo by Miroslav Škopek on Unsplash

x