November 2025

so much depending

red outside
at last
plus nearer the back window

late fall
but fall

scratching
speaking to the season
as
colors from cold
should

and if
there’s no relation
then
it’s all anticipation
falling
as it were
into each one’s magic

c l couch

photo by Natalia Fogarty on Unsplash


on the way

All Souls

El Día de los Muertos
parades
so much energy
by skulls for decoration
costuming
with many made by sugar
for the rite of
having meals with the dead
that will
happen in cemeteries with warm light
by night and everything set out
with
the living family
attending

assured that those who’ve gone before
are still close by
if
also on their journey

a paradox of pleasure
more straightforward in
affection
as affection’s
due
and shall the families appreciate
the veil
of ritual and lore
and love by incarnation of
the ways we know
each other
here
and there while all of us
are on the way

and so the three days
go
while I don’t know who really counts
them all
together
preparing for each day and finding
new energy in each

that
might be by candy
all the carbohydrates
though
more so by
meaning of the ages
shared so often
simply and complexly
close
to home

c l couch


photo by Edgar Cavazos on Unsplash

Haskell Library
across fair-access borders
‘til government’s ban

c l couch

Built intentionally on the border between Derby Line, Vermont, and Stanstead, Quebec, this Victorian landmark stands as a monument to friendship between the United States and Canada. This library is a place where families, neighbors, and students have come together for generations to learn, read, and share a civic life rooted in trust, curiosity, and peace.
That legacy ended this week.

EveryLibrary

I had read a while before about this phenomenon, a community library that traversed borders between the nations. Now the Canadians have been told they may not use the library on the USA side.
And I suppose haiku aren’t for politicking.

photo by Shunya Koide on Unsplash
(and in the back, a person in attendance in the center)