(x = space)
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“Remembering Lorraine Bay”
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Newspaper headline
Human interest story
She was interesting
Loved her job
(with challenges)
As a flight attendant
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She was on the flight
The plane that crashed
Near a small town in
Western Pennsylvania
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C L Couch
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Shanksville’s Main Street in July 2006
By Aude – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1007438
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(x = space)
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They Seek Him There
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O God, our help
In ages past
Our hope for years to come
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And what do we need today
But to know you are near
Some miracles would not go
Amiss, I must confess
(unless they do)
For a week of flood and fire
End or start to war
A sickness that has taken many lives
Corruption from the fruit of Eden
For the way we ate
For the way we live
For the way we want to live
On this side or that
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C L Couch
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title borrowed respectfully from The Scarlet Pimpernel
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by Lawn Weeds – Scarlet Pimpernel, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85377914
Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) is a summer annual plant and a member of the primrose family. As its name suggest[s,] it has bright red/orange flowers, which only open when the sun shines.
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(x = space)
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Doctrine for Three
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In dim light,
Something was handed me
A gift
In the dark outside,
We talked about
His father
Who had died recently
Whom I liked
(whom he liked)
And of family, generally
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His father’s legacy
Was to share outside
The family
I being one
I could argue worthiness
But then I’d miss the point:
Grace is free
It really is
Without conditions
And has to be
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C L Couch
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Anatomy of a dying stormcell. A stormcell dissolves over the San Francisco Peaks.
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(x = space)
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Surgent Prophecy
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Flood
Fire,
Crushes at the border
Pandemic
Surgency of variants
Afghanistan has fallen
To a group we have called
Terrorist,
Though a while ago
Alliant in and as the
Mujahideen
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Farther east in Asia
There is disease
There is prison
For dissidents
x
Sounds like end times
Too many will believe
One of the riders is
Pestilence, another
War
Famine and Death—and
We can make a case for
These
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So is this the start
Of the end,
Of apocalypse, Parousia?
Could be
Probably not
Against the march of days
That has marched and
Most likely
Will march on
But who knows?
Someone who we are not
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We can be ready
It’s not a matter
Of bunkers
But of the spirit
Are we loving animals
(and do we love
our animals)?
Are we ready for straight roads
For the coming of the monarch
Over land
Or under sea
Or through the air?
Will we have good stewardship
Reports to make
About the
Earth that has been our charge?
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Well, we’ll see
About it all
Though our part
Is ready now
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Believe
Harvest
Care
Preserve
Plant and move around
What will grow anew
And what will grow forever
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C L Couch
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Burning Down the House
Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash
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(x = space)
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Amen for Catharsis
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You came
Dear God
And you were here
You were what I couldn’t see
The voice beneath the noise
Something soft yet muscled
Beneath the brittle strength of
The world
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I don’t know about the timing
I wasn’t thinking clearly but
Have no doubt
Your arrival
Was perfect
In the way
Every plan from you
Is manifest
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Now in a time of peace
An hour, the next minute
Maybe a day–this
Side of things
Is too partial
And imperfect
(not like grammar)–
And now I go about
Again (imperfectly)
To try to serve
To try to balance out the wills
Of people
And of nature
With my energy
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And have I said it simply,
Lord
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Lord,
Thank you
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C L Couch
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Part of one of my acrylic paintings.
Photo by Paul Blenkhorn @SensoryArtHouse on Unsplash
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(x = space)
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Petitioning before the Storm
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Later today
Ida comes to call
With too much rain
For an area
That is soaked already
There should be floods
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I’m sorry
I’ve been praying for myself
I’ve been praying
For you, too
x
But I need the power
The electricity
My heart needs the help
Frankly, in the summer heat
And afterward
I’ll need to get around
For bread
x
Maybe I’ll get or keep
(since nothing
will have changed)
My petition
x
But I need the prayer for me
I hope there’s understanding
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C L Couch
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Sinai
no, Italy
Photo by eberhard 🖐 grossgasteiger on Unsplash
Alpe di Siusi, 39040 Castelrotto BZ, Kastelruth, Italy
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(x = space)
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Dramatis Personae
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The cast
Our parts
Shakespeare
Jaques
Elvis
We fret upon the stage
Curtains between acts
Performance
And performance
The show is over
Take a bow
Remove the makeup
And we’re done—
Cast party, maybe
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Someone directs
The writer is in the audience
All our family, too,
And with our friends
x
The spirit has been able
The flesh does what it can
There has been some interest in
Memorizing,
Though much of the performance
Has been impromptu
And once it’s done
Everyone gets to be a critic
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Though it’s the producer
Who decides
How long shall be the run
How many weeks
How many seasons
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There is stage fright,
Of course
There doesn’t have to be
(and we can use it)
We can train
We can learn tricks
And once out there
We can have joy
Seven stages
For a scene
A play
A résumé?
Take more
Even have some fun
There will be reviews
(nerves in the offing
and then after)
But to get to do this is a treat
And not a one to miss,
If it at all possible
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Than can be profit so
Variously drawn
But once you’re here
That part is taken:
Costume well
Though for a queen or king
There are many fools
Either can look splendid
Or look drear
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There are rehearsals
We can practice
How much to worry—not
So much as we do
We can expect each other
From the wings
There are many places
On the stage
Some of which
We get to choose
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I don’t know if
The play’s the thing
We deal here in metaphor
What is real
Is what happens after
This cold reading
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C L Couch
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drafted while watching (and hearing) a play within a play
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Garage Theater is a theater company from Qom, Iran. Garage Theater researches in the field of Laboratory theater.
Photo by mostafa meraji on Unsplash
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(x = space)
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Metaphorism
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Are there candles
That burn
At both ends?
Is the illumination
Doubly helpful?
And what happens when
The ends meet
In between?
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It’s an untried
Metaphor,
I guess
Like the silk purse
From the sow’s ear
Or trying to catch
The crocodile tears
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Their value is
Instructive—still,
I’d like to see the candle,
Hear its twice-done
Hiss inside
The darkness
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C L Couch
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Photo by Ronnie Overgoor on Unsplash
Everglades Alligator Farm, Homestead, USA
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(x = space)
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A Child Doesn’t Have to Lead Them
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When children have food
And people to talk with
Of a variety of ages
When their dreams aren’t stanched
And they have a chance
To grow into who they are
Then any child can make it
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I know this: I see and hear it happen
On TV all the time
In scripted shows
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C L Couch
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Children are amazing. And there are amazing young people who are leading in the areas of racism, sexism, and climate change (climate crisis). The only fault in this arrangements is not with the youth but with adults. Adults should be leading for the youth.
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Photo by Foroozan Faraji on Unsplash
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