saving simplicity
believe in God
that’s all
maybe reminded
that
God is love
as well as judgment
and it seems
would rather love
us
than judge
us
read the verse
after
3:16
for God’s rather
what God
would rather do
and that
together these
verses shall say
the reason
for salvation
is not lack of fallacy
or even
fullness
in fortitude
but because there’s love
in
foreground
and in
background
and on which our lives
are painted in
between
love
and faith in love
from the Lord
that are
the Lord
in all the parts
and all of them
unfailing
and shall we love
and believe
from the same capacities
of creator
in
creation
simply
that’s ours to choose
war or peace
attack or
rescue
like the one
who from our perspective
must allow
our choosing
from
either course
weighed out of love
and faith
that’s all
c l couch
photo by Corey Hearne on Unsplash
and do we teach or simply learn to learn
clear
and clean
the page
well
add some “enter”
spaces
and go on
and what shall I
say cleanly
what is clean
and what
is clear
clear-headedness
we say
we don’t say
clear-heartedness
so much
well
maybe not at all
‘til now
and maybe
neither
is achievable
maybe
reality
keeps something of
complexity
even the fog
that moves between
the pieces
making questionable connections
because
there’s synapse
circulation
and
what shall we say
a web made out of
heartstrings
sigh
and there are
other things
the messages
and wearing off
of institutions
nearby
somewhere
and what
we might become
and freedom
calls
like bird-calls
(made by birds)
such as
the lonely
sadly
call of loons
out of the morning mist
both over water
and there are loves
other
attachments
we are both with
that we choose
that come to us
through reading
conversation
or some other
leading dialogue
like Socrates
we set
as our own method
or influenced by
the schools
of everything
we have attended
attending
also meaning
service
as in waiting
and there is waiting
as in
we wait for something
after we rise
and while we work
we look around
with every sense
we count
and cannot count
for we don’t understand
anything like
totality
of learning
and retention
and also of
discovery
that flows between the banks
of stultification on one side
creative shouting on the other
with places
to pull over
though we don’t set these
and must wait
for certain rituals
to hear them
see them
and take up
our crafts of exploration
for a while
it’s like we’re on the move
and consider cells
that are in movement
all the time
the turn of Earth
and the ringed nature
of the cosmos
also with
the turn of us
through moments
and through years
and just the same
the stillness
that we have
is honest
when we choose that hour
wish for that style
to achieve
and then to practice
with a kind
(with lapses)
of lasting
ever
I can stop for now
the part of me that stops
that is
that pauses
and refreshes
like a soda-pop
or tapas
with sangria
bread and wine
for ritual
and meaning
on our own
and especially
in community
because
alone is not so hopeful
as in useful
for philosophy
so write with me
and talk
and
yes
talk among yourselves
for there’s not test
and is no cheating
not for this
the examination
of a universe
of
circled possibilities
and
yes
we’re on our own
also together
don’t forget
c l couch
photo by Mackenzie Marco on Unsplash
Relative Faithful Consciousness
I haven’t said God
To you
Or me
This morning
Through I might have spoken
To God
Anyway
Yes
I know we say it
Different ways
Different
Intents
(too early
for
ontologies)
But I think
You know
I mean to say
Civilitied
Good morning
Or
Dear God
To start a prayer
As I stretched
And moved with
Care
Depending
On mindfulness
Toward the counter
To make
Coffee
Someone was there
(without Reed-Kellogg-
like
diagramming for
discovery)
And I think
(anyway)
I knew
Grumpy
And doesn’t God
Get grumpy
Too
Withholding a flood
But wanting to retaliate
In other ways
Or simply have us
With our wills
Go away
A while
Well
Maybe not
I guess God’s always on
Always perfect
Always love
Good morning
C L Couch
Photo by sumingliu youyou on Unsplash
“delicate decision”
(https://leafandtwig.org/2024/04/14/delicate-decisions/)
to decide between
winter or spring
and
it must be spring
but what if
the decision goes the other way
what if
spring’s not ready
and winter coldness
might feel grand
a little longer
given quarters of the Earth
already turned
and hot
or maybe to rest a while longer
in the freeze
in caves
in trees
and beneath the ground
letting seeds build up
their inner strength
to shoot
and rise
through the crusts of soil
to find in time
the nurture
of the sky
so let the new
be moved on a little
maybe a month or so
a scandal to our calendars
though the big negotiations
shall go
between
the tilt of Earth
and the truculence
of nature here
that wants to wait
a while
c l couch
this verse, undulating for good or ill in form and content, is inspired by the post on 14 April 2024 of the excellent blog by Catherine Arcolio—“Leaf and Twig” that presents evocative photographs and text, both as expressions and comments about nature (thank you, Catherine)
photo by Jodie Righos on Unsplash
Nature for Liturgy
This is your day
God
But then
So was yesterday
A litany to you
Could have been
Between the sunset
And moon
Rising
Or even closer
The response
Of branch
To wind
We could guess
The words are everywhere
And should we know
The language
We could antiphon
With
Nature
Find the circles
And to join
Them
In
Nature’s lack of need
To worship
But providing perfect places
For it
All the same
An invitation
All the same
From
The world that
We have
Gradually
Used up
Irony
And gratitude
Shall we apply
In moving
Aside
(inside
or outside)
To be
Here
In splendid
Airy
Easy
(save for awe
mountain peaks
or seeming
depthless
oceans)
Company
In unaware companionship
But offering
The same
Anyway
For our hours
In irony
And gratitude
C L Couch
Photo by Chuck Eugene on Unsplash
poems about life together
regardless
sad programs
about
the dying animals
with sad
commercials about
giving money
to save
the dying animals
and if we’re good
there will be t-shirts in
the package
with
some photographs
and some rhetoric
please
to send some more
sigh
and this is
Saturday
and sometimes throughout
the day
or at night
when I am done
with the workday
or week
and it seems
I’ve nothing left
to give
for service
or for play
and shall I find it in myself
to give some
more
and then some
more
well
why not
it’s only interactions
with a service
and the donations go
automatic
in the timeframe
I approve
and maybe
we could
do this together
as
you know
a project
or something passing by
over time
to be reminded of
and how
small
even accumulated
was this kind
of giving
then there’s an hour
two hours
a few hours
to go into town
to serve somewhere
because
what is required
is what we know already
how to do
and also
how to smile
how to say
hello
and then
here you go
please enjoy
a gambol
a gambol
is a walk
that is playful
sometimes what
a mountain goat
or sheep
might do
upon the mountain
and shall I
gambol
somewhere
on this weekend
day
or take a drive to nowhere
letting the playfulness
be mental
and emotional
(while
driving carefully)
playfully
in my head
or chest
might count for a gambol
too
for someone keeping score
or for
without a record
simply to have
the play
beside the work
don’t worry
deserving
simply go
and shall we
collaborate
into companionship
to go
out there
in here
companionable
and when we return
we could enjoy
some silent company
with small words
in between
the kind the authors call
companionable
I shall enjoy
companionable silence
if you are of a mind
and will
to join me
in the same
I don’t there are cues
but time will tell
(and now we know
what that means)
let’s sit
or do small chores
with a glass of wine
nearby
or tea
poured into
carryable cups
and let the hour
be an hour
without counting
or whatever time it
takes
to rest inside the mind
and in the seat
where classics say
we build up
and make sense of
our emotions
time passes
easy love
the kind that lasts
through jumpy times
or even
catastrophic
should the phone ring
or something on the news
require our rising
on the inside and outside
to take on
together
built on the companionship
built in the quiet
times
and everything unworldly
together
maybe not the end of day
and then we rest
maybe tired
maybe worried
maybe
we need
to talk some
more about
what’s going on
inside our lives
even the world
at large
to parse the day
and yet not
box
anything
but leave the thoughts
and our emotions
even will
to go organically
to set priorities
through the life-sense
and what’s important
that we built
and yes
together
epilogue
straightforward?
saccharine?
more metaphors?
some
jaundice
for what we consider
the infection
of reality?
I don’t know
what’s real?
what is truth
to modern
governors
and Pilates?
well
give it a go
or not
I think we’ll only find
a truth that lasts
and a reality to bear
when somehow
we work it out
as we
(and yes
too easy the
transition)
whee
don’t forget
to play
without humor
and joy
it’s hard to work out
life’s
priorities
even its reasons
without
some
together
c l couch
photo by Dan Cristian Pădureț on Unsplash
Theology for Anyone
Too many things
To think about
What is
Simply
Out there
Anymore
What might be simple
First
In here
And show the way
The poet
(I have mentioned this)
Taught me about the Amish
Person
Who was asked
Are you saved to heaven
To which
The faithful person said
I hope so
Not doubting so much
As to be humble
And to be prodded
All the time
To serve
And remember who is
Served
And what did
Jesus say
About the sheep
But
You may come in
For helping me
Because
I was the thirsty
And the naked
And the lonely
While you goats
(poor goats
for a metaphor)
Must stay outside
And go to
Frankly
An awful place
Or maybe
Nothing
Philosophically
Simply enough
Perhaps
That is
Live well
And for each other
And who is my neighbor
But
Anyone in
Need
While we have the means
And typically we have
To use
Help each other
Which I guess means
Take the help
As well
Simple enough
C L Couch
(Matthew 25:31–46)
Photo by Nandhu Kumar on Unsplash
help the goats, too
ain’t together
(roaming like clouds or cellphone signals, I apologize)
anticipation
like the ketchup
rain
should come
at any moment
through
the unrelenting gray
to the west
and south
severer things have happened
and
I think
we
shall get the dregs
of it
flooding tempests
and tornados
well
it’s windy
now
though I don’t think
shelter-driven
though
of course
I could be wrong
and I’ll
be looking for
a doorframe
after all
and you be safe
unless
you be
stormchasers
then
I don’t what
to say
how about
God speed with you
and make wings
ahead
blow you the other way
when exigent
need be
coda
I’m sorry
we aren’t going through
what you go through
in Ukraine
or in Gaza
or
in parts where the same things
happen
and we don’t hear about
so much
I’m not talking about
bullets
killing or
explosions
the terror
then the thirst
and hunger
after
the infections
and the awful
draining
fear
for families
and I’m not in Philadelphia
where someone had to shoot
at Muslims
having Eid al-Fetr
at the end
of Ramadan
and I’m not everywhere
where white folk
hate the Jews
or anyone who’s not
so white
(I guess I mean
pure
ethnic white
whatever hell that means
as a thought
or an
agenda)
anyone
that is
whom we’re afraid of
as the next
majority
in number or
otherwise in power
well
I merely
started talking
about
weather
and by
implication
climate change
but
maybe
everything’s extreme
anymore
and the peace of moderation
sometimes called
the swing vote
might be desired
more than
ever
or I’ll only speak
for me
from a kind of centered place
that I hope is not
the hurricane’s
but God’s
eye
c l couch
photo by Clay LeConey on Unsplash
with at the start a reference to a TV commercial from the '70s
How to Go to the New World
(either way)
I still don’t know what
To say to you
Today
I mean
This is me
And I don’t know
Not knowing
Words
And something of their use
Often
Re-rendered
When conscripted
Into verse
Or let the message
Be a branch
Or bird
Inside the tree
Or something of the sun
Through clouds
Below
Leaving a gospel
In a shadow
But something new
Or affirming
Something old
Or even ancient
Like virtue
And its complement
Of rules
We take for argument
From Greeks
Who took things
From Egyptians
Then both subsumed
By Rome
And so
What’s happening
In Asia
All the while
And then the holy
And the Roman
Christians
Establish empire
Where for eons
There had been those
Who fought
And
Dwelled
Expanded and
Diminished
On their own
To have the only world
They knew
And it was vast
More than enough
Until the white gods
Came
The devils
To deceive us
A whole world
For its varied understanding
Of
The way things go
And on another side
How seasons
Turn
To go another way
And so subvert
The growing year
Of Gregory
So much
So many
To have touched
On so few
And in one time
And so
Move forward
When complexities
Are
Rife with
Differences
Agendas
Styles
And signals
Of the fear of the unknown
Toward other people
In the shadows
From our light
Whose singularity
Makes others
Fearsome in the dark
That we have made
Much darker
Not
To behold
Their part
In the same light
We could tone down ourselves
And so inquire
Of the ones
We do not know
But could
In openness
And inquiry
The way we learned research
In school
Before the grown-ups interests
And fear for profit
Took us over
We could learn to love
The differences
As might have been
Our first impressions
When meeting
As children
Invested by impulse
With curiosity
And let the world change
With our acquaintance
Let everyone be different
Just a little
For having met
With outstretched hand
Empty for introduction
While the other hand
At our side
Is open
Too
With honesty
Allowed to gain
Through inquiry
And
Once permitted
Exploration
C L Couch
Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash
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