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clcouch123

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clcouch123

In conversation, I prefer Christopher. My mom named me after Christopher Robin, after all. In writing, I use “C L Couch” (or, more simply, “c l couch”) because the form is genderless and also frankly easier to use. I have awful writer’s cramp. I am an educator more or less retired, more or less due to disability. At present, I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (USA). My writing here I mean to be occasional and also devotional. Either or both. The banner and profile photographs are by my friend and peer Debra Danielson. More of Debbie’s work to be enjoyed is at debradanielson.org. Thanks to each of you and both and all for coming to my blog.

tandem

(x = space)

x

x

tandem

x

if I count all the noise

I am depressed

at least disappointed

I like the noise of living:

children (not always)

dogs, pans squabbling

even the noise of

passing cars and the diesel

of the bus

x

but the anchorite

would like some quiet

in the cell from time to time

to think and feel through

insight

and the soul

x

and who quiets the noise inside

I am not sure

x

I try it on my own,

and only impulse closes over

wakeful everything

x

I ask,

maybe will receive

not a holy schedule

but a sacrosanct surprise

that the Earth is

made quiet through

a tandem try

so we both may dream

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by Adolfo Félix on Unsplash

bike for two

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1

The Loft

(x = space)

x

x

The Loft

x

If quiet into night

I send a word or two words

Or more

Through breath,

Then you might hear me

So that we might turn, at last,

Toward each other

x

I’d say all prayers are done

Except the kind that praise

And ask for nothing else

x

C L Couch

x

x

湖州市, 湖州市, 中国

Night View Mountain

x

1

Gumball Machine

(x = space)

x

x

Gumball Machine

x

Sometimes

Often, maybe

We wish for dispensers

Push a coin into a

Machine that has moving parts

But no electricity

And no computer parts

x

And receive

Something colorful and wonderful

Call it sweet

(call it sugar)

Call it grace

x

Grace for a quarter

(I know, it might have been

a penny)

Or something else

Dispensed

To save us for

A little while

x

A coin for a bit of doctrine

Except it might be heresy

Grace for a coin?

That is a coin too much

x

C L Couch

x

x

by Strange from CA, Japan – bubbleGum!, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3232931

x

0

Snow Overnight

(x = space)

x

x

Snow Overnight

(the forecast)

x

Snow in the dark

Except where under

Artificial lights,

Maybe like renegades

Outside the windows

Of our homes

Or business locales

x

Over the runway

Through trees

Sleeping gardens

Flying around steeples

It’s there

It might go well

To turn off the lights

Go outside

I have to recommend

In numbers

x

But let them strike our flesh

Faces,

Wrists between our gloves

And sleeves

x

Small hits, the kind that

Most of us can take

With the cold

In thirties Fahrenheit,

Knowing that heat awaits

Inside

After the dance

Or anything to learn

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Robert Katzki on Unsplash

Stützerbach, Deutschland

x

2

Indiana Bible Study

(x = space)

x

x

Indiana Bible Study

(a neophyte in pandemic time)

x

I was an interloper

Not really

I had been invited

But I knew no one else

x

It was a discussion

Of Saint Paul’s mission

To a group

In a letter to

Another group

See, I was late

x

This was on Zoom

And I cannot work it out

Sometimes I was

A black square

Sometimes an image

That was true

(I brushed my hair,

beforehand)

Sometimes I got to write

I was never heard,

Which probably

Was just as well

x

I was welcomed

(thank you)

And got to hear

(thank you)

The stories of others

Shared as insight

And later prayer requests

x

My friend and I

Talked afterward

(over the phone, which

I can manage)

With a promise to

Rehearse the technology

x

But here was a group

To join

That has a life beyond

This meeting

‘Til the next one

And I was invited,

Which is evangelism

In itself

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Fré Sonneveld on Unsplash

Power Line Grids

x

2

Signing Late Winter

(x = space)

x

x

Signing Late Winter

x

The sky is blue

As an observer,

A romantic,

Or a child might say

At last

And with a sigh:

It’s been white

Or gray for a while

x

A lithe tree branch

Dances against the window

I can’t hear it for

The distance,

Though I’m sure there’s

Scraping

x

Asking to come in

Or better yet

Inviting me

For company

To go out

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by dorota dylka on Unsplash

Blossom

x

0

Something on a Shelf

(x = space)

x

x

Something on a Shelf

(for anyone feeling alone)

x

I don’t want to steep

In bitterness

The tea that’s made

Isn’t worth the drinking

Perhaps not even with

The sugar of

Someone else’s kindness

x

Try again

From the start

Set aside that substance

(trash it later)

There is an old jar or a new one;

If you remember,

There was savor

In the substance

In the memory

Now a promise of renewal

x

Try it now

Reach, if possible

Remember what’s worth remembering

Almost a guarantee of renewal

In the trying

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

x

1

Practical Lack of Magic

(x = space)

x

x

Practical Lack of Magic

x

I am tired

With a blanket ‘round me

Wishing for

Some writing

That would serve

The quiet, sobbing Earth

x

The moon

And Mars

That shake for prospects,

Having heard

That we are coming

With agendas

And mechanical persistence

x

The moon’s already scarred

Not that we

Shouldn’t go

But have a care

At least

For places that so far

Have gone untouched

x

Mystery

Romance of the unknown

Once resolved,

What we will see

When look up

Is practical

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Forest Katsch on Unsplash

South Padre Island, TX, USA

Starship SN8 lifts off from SpaceX’s South Texas facility in Cameron County.

x

0

Gobbler’s

(x = space)

x

x

Gobbler’s

(3 February 2021)

x

It’s Wednesday

Phil is back inside the keep

All is well

x

Yes, it was done

In a cyber way

Phil was social-distanced

Fans were turned away

Tourism dived

Beneath the radar

Of spending consideration

x

Something again next year

Pity the small towns of

Western Pennsylvania

x

C L Couch

x

x

by Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States – Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, uploaded by GrapedApe, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25167720

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

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