Shall I Compare Thee to a Winter’s Day?
Shall I compare thee to a winter’s day?
Cold wind must have its way on us:
But thou art cooler than with ice to play
Through season’s layers in response to fuss;
We play outside then warm ourselves inside
Where should thou offer play ourselves a game;
And I am thankful for hot chocolate’s tide,
Though I fall prey to local champion’s fame;
And thou shall treat me when I am of need
If know thou might give over certain flaws,
And let me help thee with an even speed
And yet excel according to love’s laws;
And I must give according to my own
And yet if thou should have thy way made clear,
My own mistakes too sharp as snow is blown,
Then winter’s day know only thawed hearts here;
Fair face’s features with expressive eyes,
Thy bounding love unbounded by the world;
Grace in thy form as only our God buys—
Thy words and insights found like treasure pearl’d;
And should I ask and knowing I must wait
Might we so heat above the frost, our fate.
C L Couch
Photo by Tarryn Grignet on Unsplash
[haiku]
winter skimming late
mysteries in melting ice
slush punctuates
c l couch
photo by Matthew Fassnacht on Unsplash
this kind of hour
gray
sky
black branches
black lines for panes
barely illuminated white frames
tall
in the old house
a saving grace of sorts
by
not seeing so much inside in this
dark hour
c l couch
photo by Tristan Colangelo on Unsplash
a straightforward threefold effort for remembering and praising
Women’s History Month This Month
And we’ll see notices sliding by
As we move so fast
That is
Catching some of the words of others
And we could hold the words
And heed
The teaching
Of the cause and
Of the time
Which belong to everyone
And should out of interest meet
With
Honor attendant
Not for basic freedom
That all should breathe and without question
That in another age
Would wonder
Indeed
Why there was fuss over how we healthy
Live
To start with
Wonder Woman
There was some song about
Women and a pan
And a man
I don’t know
Hardly worth remembering
It seems to me
And then women roar
Something about
The floor
And that sounds
Sad
Since everyone should be there
Time to time
While everyone
Everyone
Should more often
Stand
Riveting Rosie
I understand there used to be debate
Over the model
And the right one
Should
Be noted
And also doesn’t everyone
All women who fought the storied
Aar at home
Both for the foreign
Fronts
And all the lines that
Took all patience everywhere
Welding
Hammering
Building the means and reason
To have home
To fight to keep that something to
Return to
Plus
The many
Many women over there
And who go
Now
To every front decided there
And here
C L Couch
Photo by Ari Shojaei on Unsplash
evening in February winter
dark gray with even darker gray
above
black branches
Hallowe’en
scene
to look out on this hour
winter gloom
I guess
which is allowed by nature
then
with a sigh
perhaps
acceptable to us
changing seasons
substances
and
shapes
one
big reason that we stay here or move
or then return
some prefer the icy
while the rest
shall
be waiting for the green
c l couch
photo by Michaela Murphy on Unsplash
It’s Been Black History Month
It’s been Black History Month
And one more week
And I’ve thought
And
Though about what
To say
Being white and not feeling
Privileged
But
To be convinced it has been there
That other white people might
Have taken back
Through
All my eschewing
Brave Black people
And we know because
Too many of
Them
Killed
Or lynched
Or lynched before have been killed
Or easily
Horribly denied
And I can only imagine
If the water fountain
Or indeed the whole damn restaurant
Or sets on
The bus
Were denied
For the sake of denying me
Small razor cuts
With large ones to the jugular
Also
Fires
Tar
Feathers
That splinter skin
Then pull it from the body
And I won’t have it
Lord
I hope I never have it
And insofar as I might mean
The other way
I won’t
Have it
Either
And I guess this is something like
What I’ve wanted
To say
And Blacks will say it better
Of their own
Though I want
Someday
For your own and mine
To be
By hook or crook
Or speech
Or gentle protest using buses
Or what have you
And by the love of God
Come down
To make us rise
Please
All of us
Someday
C L Couch
Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash
Martyr Medgar Evers
The Black man fell and helpless lay,
A gaping wound upon his back,
A witness to the savage way,
A beast had made it foul attack.
. . .
[from a placard—I looked some but could not find the source]
b-day GW
today is G’s birthday
and what must he think
he might not mind so much
except he saw the war
led it
watched the soldiers die
watched them freeze
at Valley Forge
and then
perhaps with barely thawed enthusiasm
row
then march on Trenton
for the win
and he knew
enough
to resist majesty
mot likely would not care
for
Apotheosis
though he likely would appreciate
the talent
in the
art
and maybe dallying with God
being
Episcopalian
except one Sunday in Carlisle
when it seemed meet
to go
Presbyterian
but letting God be God
should a monarch be appropriate
but
no one
as one
under God
on Earth
and in deciding earthly matters
leave all people
to decide
except for the flawed
frankly awful quantities
to make
of women and
of slaves
since to have a nation we must
all
be or become democratized
happy day
George
and maybe happy nation
you secured
and must make up
and grow
negotiate a peace inside
and
then model
as the French have tried and then
(as
well)
to be this kind of
presence
in the world
c l couch
photo by Laura Nyhuis on Unsplash
Mount Rushmore, Mount Rushmore UT, SD, USA
(never finished as a monument)
a day too that’s good for thinking about tart, red, sweet cherry pie
(sorry, had to say this)
chimes
on its way to midnight
a new day
in which we don’t have to re-make everything
or anything
though there is a spirit of creation to
consider
maybe some things need refreshed
or added to with
zest
once we wake up
of course
c l couch
photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash
Questions and Answers
(easier than we admit)
God
It’s your day
As if there were a day
That was not yours
You know
Having made all of it
To call it
Day
Though we added names in time
And all of these do not agree
But
Maker of them
Anyway
And we should owe you something
For that
And you do have directives
Even as
The prophet asks on
Our behalf
What you might require
Might
Though really tell us must
Like the commandments from
The mountain
And yet
We take as options
Like
Speed limits in my culture or
Widespread fidelity in marriage
Having made
Knowing vows
And
Maybe vows
At all
You tell us to walk humbly
Carry justice and
Mercy
With us
Not because they’re easy but because
They’re necessary for
The health
And even happiness of the world
Of us
And someday
Penultimately perhaps
We’ll get it
And in time to express
And to practice
For
Impending judgment
Yes
But also for the sake
Of its own value
And the preference this walking gives
Toward
Living well
And having a whole world
(before the
last)
Of us
Micah 6:8
C L Couch
Photo by Julian Gentile on Unsplash
clcouch123 
Recent Comments