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December 2022

The Thing with Feathers First

(x = space)

x

x

The Thing with Feathers First

x

Birds are odd

x

We like them for their

Feathers

And their beaks

And beady eyes

x

They peck away

For food,

Sometimes for shelter

x

They signal presence

And need

And declaration

In their calls

From their perches

Or flight plans

x

You see,

They know the seasons well

x

If we could listen

We might know more

x

They frustrate and inspire

Our need

To fly on our own

x

We might cherish the colors

Pinned to bodies;

We can make the colors

And so leave

Them on the birds

So we might complement

x

There is obsession

With the turkey

Once or twice a year

Over here

x

We breed them

So they’re not a challenge

Except to cook

And then to carve,

Which others

Might do

For us

x

We say it’s for the birds

Meaning silly

If not stupid

x

We ignore their smarts,

Their networks

On branches and on wires

Not to mention through

The air

x

In folklore,

Birds carry messages:

Bird-banders wonder

What they might be

Telling us

x

Why were we given birds?

As reminders

x

About freedom

In captivity,

The sad and mortal Earth

And those who only know the ground

So well

x

They teach us harmony,

Disharmony—sometimes

The savagery

In talons,

Sometimes the kindness

In community

Even survival

Glowing air

With song

Like litanies

For practicing our allegories

As all the notes rise

x

C L Couch

x

x

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

. . .

Emily Dickinson

x

Photo by thom masat on Unsplash

x

(I saw a picture of a flicker in the desert, pecking into a cactus;

my grandfather was a bird-bander for the government)

x

5

Forever Invitation, RSVP

(x = space)

x

x

Forever Invitation, RSVP

x

There is a table

You know this

The right shape

With many chairs

All are welcome

We have technology

For turns

For clarity

And intention

For a planet

x

All are guests

The host might seem

Off somewhere

Though is returning

With angels

And tidings

x

We might have to work

Mainly with us

And pray in evenings

Those who pray

While also working on

Best thoughts

And hopefulness

As gifts like creation

Even resources

To discuss

Arrange

And practice

For a future

A humanity

x

n. b.

x

Yes

And at the final conclave,

There will be

A sky command

For snacks

And meals

For needs

For celebration

Everywhere

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Trude Jonsson Stangel on Unsplash

x

2

Lockerbie

(x = space)

x

x

Lockerbie

x

So many lost people,

Lost at Lockerbie

x

They are in the news again

And should be;

All our losses need remembered

(losses’ need)

x

We think

A culprit has been found;

Headlines, texts, and images

Need smoothing out

x

How awful to be made

To remember

And how necessary

x

Let’s not look

Away

But mourn

With forward eyes

x

C L Couch

x

x

Lockerbie bombing suspect in US custody

x

Photo by Andrew Ridley on Unsplash

x

0

Advent 3 is a gray day

(x = space)

x

x

Advent 3 is a gray day

x

I am sad on this gray day

not totally bereft

because,

well, because

Emmanuel

God with us

let all mortal flesh keep silent

and instead

in fear and trembling stand,

which means

we’ll need our bones and muscles, too,

everything we think we are

because most of us see

while the important things

they are invisible

x

so much of this could read

as a ghost story

so much is insubstantial

to the senses

and the things we have

that measure substance

substances

chemicals

proteins

DNA

pages are recording devices

with only provenance

to share

if they last long enough

for evidence

narration

testimony

an insubstantial story

about the supernatural

the things that leave no evidence behind

that break into our lives

nonetheless

then left

and we are left with a decision

shall we believe?

what shall we believe?

two more weeks to get it right

leave everything in boxes

open one box

that has

the precious thing in it

the thing carried on wings

the thing that speaks on mountains

and in valleys

you know what it is for us

it is a story

maybe an organic

introduction,

after

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Thays Orrico on Unsplash

x

0

Brittney Griner

(x = space)

x

x

Brittney Griner

x

I’m glad she’s back

Aren’t you?

Return the others, please—and

We should say

You may have your own

x

We don’t like each other now

Except maybe in passing

On the street

On the subway

In the store

Real people

Real person to real person

We pick each other up

In small ways all the time

x

More real than politics

That makes a war

Forgets the real people

But counts numbers

Of them

Plays them on a map

And in a mortal dream

Of conquest,

Acquisition

To rationalize

Before the rest

Of temporal authority

That needs speeches

Bites for press releases

Justifying

All those people

In the street

And the street

No longer,

Well,

No longer there

Picking up each other

That we no longer do

Because we were made numbers

Then like gum on penciled math

The strategy erased

x

C L Couch

x

x

After Release from Russian Custody, Focus Is on Providing Brittney Griner and Her Family Additional Support, Officials Say

Story by Aya Elamroussi • 6h ago

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after-release-from-russian-custody-focus-is-on-providing-brittney-griner-and-her-family-additional-support-officials-say/ar-AA157twN

x

Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

Disruptive

x

1

good night, irene

(x = space)

x

x

good night, irene

(weave away)

x

i don’t know who

irene is

maybe she

spends time

with missus calabash

or to whomever

carol tugs her ear

(maybe

we know)

x

we’re running

a little late

he says each time

on radio

how does he not know?

why doesn’t the network

correct him if

he’s always late?

x

because

saying goodbye

is hard to do

creative

and all these people tried

x

they credit us

with understanding

and a reminder that

some things

even everyday

are new

x

or not

say goodbye however you mean it

there is no cliché

nothing trite

in the next heartbeat

or the word

that comes from there

x

good night, irene

(lead belly

it’s okay to laugh

i think he must

from time

to time)

let’s see you on the flip side

side b

where it’s wonderful

you hear it

when the artists say

they sing

(in side b songs)

hello

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by mick haupt on unsplash

x

0

Superlative Thursday

(x = space)

x

x

Superlative Thursday

x

The caffeine’s worked

A little

Now what to say?

I hope this Thursday’s

Grand for you

You could stand some grandness

As a gift

Don’t question

Anything deserving

Simply have the goodness

Offer oblations, if you must

Or find something

Good to drink

On your own

With a friend

Have an ordinary Thursday

That is to say

Extraordinary

Go between the world’s words

Or these

Where there’s rest

Breathing without agenda

Have peace instead or anything

You want here

Then move

You might find

You’re a little better at moving

Make it Friday

Yay for Friday that

In the culture’s

Easier

x

And if it’s not Thursday

Make this happen

Today

Even if it’s Monday

(ugh)

Even if it’s Friday

(yay)

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Maxim Berg on Unsplash

x

1

Someone Said a Pearl for a Harbor

(x = space)

x

x

Someone Said a Pearl for a Harbor

(7 December 1941, an invocation)

x

Whom shall we honor

Today?

The citizens of Hawaii

Who died then

For strategy

On two sides

x

The crews

Of small submarines

That tried to get through

And sank somewhere

Close by

x

Mostly, the soldiers

We should honor

For the loss of life,

By the by material

That could (by the by)

Cost a war

x

Honor convictions?

How shall they be

Dispersed?

On either side,

There might be recognition

Even under actions

Worse for horror and

A lack of declaration

x

I don’t know,

There were people everywhere:

Many termed the enemy

Who were not in any way

An enemy

Taken to camps

Frankly

For looking different

(I say exotic and

of the USA—the

ubiquitous they

say the difference

lay in espionage,

so we became

the creepers

and the judges);

We hadn’t done so

To the urban Germans here

Or in our suburbs,

On the farms

Or to the Italians

Though I wouldn’t be surprised

To hear

They weren’t treated well

In the environs

Of duration

x

We sent to camps

Then tried not to think

Some more about

Walled and shadowed camps

Turning into

Many of our own

For racist reasons;

We could have tasked

The FBI, the OSS

Instead

For their investigations

x

There is a danger

That the battleship memorial

Might slide into the water,

As it placed one way or another

Over tombs

Of flesh and rust

x

I’d hate for that happen,

For we need remembrance

x

We need to remember

Many things:

God and our conscience

Make it so

x

Recalling sudden loss of life,

A shining, lethal campaign of

Surprise

x

Oh, we should be careful:

Watch our shores,

Keep our early systems

Early,

Though we need no longer

Look to the right and left

For enemies

Since looking right and left

Shall land on every one

Of us

x

And what’s left of united?

x

My families

Fought inside this war

That we remember;

Some could still

Tell stories

That tend to

Try the young to hear

x

On this day remember, then—those

Who could see and hear

And taste and touch,

Who suddenly

Lost all the senses

Along with mortal life,

The joy of daily living

In a paradise

We tried to covet

For a paradise

x

Farewell, we may salute

And say

All those

Who cannot call out

Except for memory,

Call out

For each other

In the fire

And the smoke

x

And the few remaining

Now

Who would

Can tell us

Of the hours

And the aftermath

x

Times and

Experiences

That

Soldiers, sailors, flyers—on

The ground, on deck, or in the air—

Mechanics and KP,

Bystanders

Try not to talk about

So much

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Kyle Chicoine on Unsplash

Birds by the Bay

Ocean Shores, United States

x

2

I Wish I Knew More

(x = space)

x

x

I Wish I Knew More

x

I wish I knew more

Of the Quran

Of the Torah

Of the Talmud

And the Mishnah

(maybe a smidgen

of Kabbalah)

The Vedas

And the Upanishads

Other texts that have inspired

And informed

Other traditions than

My own followings

x

I mean,

I’ve read

Here and there

I’ve listened to stories

Listened

To people talking

But I wish I knew

So much more

For appreciation

And understanding

It’s a big world

Multifarious and changing

While many things

Were established

Long ago

x

I have a twig

There is a tree

I have a drop

There is an ocean

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Basil Lade on Unsplash

x

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