something to say to God, something to you
say what
I think I should
say something to God today
not about
the weather
which is
fine
about the tree out the window
and across the street
that looks as if it’s bearing
snow
that are the blossoms back
for spring
I should say thank you
for
new growth plus
reminding winter in
a romantic way
thank you
a wish is all
I hope this is a good
day
for you
maybe a day of extra goodness
in the eccentric
way
I thought it was Thursday
when it’s
Wednesday
an extra day in which all sorts
of added goodness
might
take place
and I hope it happens
for you
c l couch
photo by Paran Koo on Unsplash
my sympathies toward Sasquatch
we want
to find Bigfoot
but don’t really want
to meet
it
some take guns in
guns
with
needles
some with bullets
as if
it is the thing’s own fault
we push the encounter
I don’t get it
thinking
it’s like the Cold War game
in which
to win
is not
to play
c l couch
photo by Dare Artworks on Unsplash
2 poems while thinking about Easter
Aslan again
was re-maned
once rising
with all wounds save mild scars
now
unremembered
new life
new joy
wanting to roar
and so roaring
and then playing
with
the children
on a hillside
where rolling
descending and ascending
make
sense
in mortality
again
(recalling that passage in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe)
green-grass Saturday
made of plastic
even though there’s cheer
in memory
said memory to find itself in corners
through
the coming year
once making beds
to dye the eggs with vinegar
hot water
everything is nestled
for a while
and
as of yet
no chocolate has appeared
though we are
ready for the hunt again
on Sunday
for the same eggs
now
we cannot find
and then the chocolate
and there will be photographs
appearing of the day
and
of the day again
then in pastels
off
to church
c l couch
photo by Birger Strahl on Unsplash
chapbooklet for wrapping up the workaday week
(should you work this kind of week with its work days)
Guide
I’ve been on trails
And there were guides
And other sites
With guides
Though Mammoth Cave
Through the National Aquarium
I thought I’d like to be a guide
And applied
And got the job
Fort Necessity
But
Too far away
And I was unwell
And so stayed put
Sigh
We think of guides
They do their jobs and then
We put them
Aside
To lead our guideless lives
Except
By ourselves
And anyone who tells us what
To do
And we obey
Or otherwise we go along
Conductoring
I like conducting
I discovered rather late
I have good sense of rhythm
And a good
Sense of pitch
I have directed groups
But did not have the chance
Realities
Subsuming
To get the training I would need
To do it and be taken
Seriously
So I do the phantom thing
As others do
Conduct when no one’s looking
There might be music on
Or all the pieces
All the voices
All the movements
In my head
Southpaw
I am left-handed
Which
Yes
I’m told means I live
In my right mind
Statistically
(I suppose actuarially)
I
Understand
We lead shorter lives
Up to
Five years less
Which seems unfair
For all the terrific baseball-pitching
We
Provide
Guidance Counselor
I think that God guides
Though I’m not sure
Although
Before my doubt should intervene
My instincts
Worldly
Ego-driven
Take over all the choices
Sometimes I withhold
The choice
Long enough to hear
Or note the tug
Of the angel voice
Or pull
To indicate
This is what I should
Do
Where I should go
So I don’t know
It’s not
Negotiation
For we’re not in any
Way
In equal places
Equal parts
And yet
It matters how I listen
How
I respond
My decisions
(predestination notwithstanding)
Seem
To matter
Which might we say
From time to time
To listen to
Your know
The better angels
The other ones
Fallen like us
And yet for that kinship
We must look
To rise
Like the ones who fly
Roll of Thunder
First the lightning
Then the crash right after
Lightning
Close
Then the count took place
Increased
As hours passed
Flashes
Persisted
Though the numbers
Said the lightning had moved on
Inside
No lights flickered
Which
In a dismal state
Added balm to despair’s
Ennui
We Are Closed
(open to what’s next)
The hours close in
The last of the workweek
In my
Current culture
There will be a kind of ending
Paced by exhalations
As we leave
Where we have been for
Hours
Naturally enough
And on our way
(exhaling)
Toward home
Or pubs
Or whatever satisfied
Distracts
Over the connotative weekend
C L Couch
Have a splendid weekend!
(should you have the weekend)
Photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash
visitationing
(there’s an answer to a riddle toward the end)
God behind the clouds
today
descending now and then
to look inside
the window
make sure that I am
still there
and I appreciate the feeling
though God could
come in
and we could sit
and God would ask
and I would
answer
though what I’d really like to do
is listen
to the Lord across
across
from
me
c l couch
photo by Ozgu Ozden on Unsplash
replacing a cell phone in 2025
(to my family first and then the artifact)
hi
my replacement phone is on the way
I wasn’t sure if had paid the insurance on the phone I had
(now run over)
but I had
I couldn’t access my account at first because they wanted to send a verification text
to the phone that’s smashed and splintered and (thus) no longer working
but there was a phone number that I called
and I spoke with a real person
who asked me for a PIN I didn’t know at first
and I tried a couple numbers in my head
and one of these numbers worked
then it was confirmed for me (by the real person) that I had indeed paid the
insurance
and so could get a new phone
for which I was given new numbers to try
phone number of the insurance company for the cell company
some sort of activation number
the number to call back once I had the replacement phone
on line again
I filed the claim
and now am assured (electronically) that a new phone is on the way
I might have considered an upgraded model
but received no enticement to that effect
and so
I’ll have the same kind and model of cell phone again
I’ll let you know when my mobile number should be working again
thanks
christopher
photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
lamb-like
(31 March)
today is a lamb-like
day
as it happens
where I am
whereas
you might be in a storm or counting
minutes ‘til one happens
or there could be
late-spring
or on a desert where the climate
seems
unchanging
though
if minutely
it is not
here
the sun is shining
as it
tries for spring
still somewhat winter-pale
here and there some detritus
from the frigid season
(or
the opposite
way south)
waiting to be washed away after
a widespread and
we may
hope
a natural sort of thaw
for anymore the Earth fool us
in that we fool
ourselves
in
how we grew
and now manipulate
(per se)
the climates of our planet
I mean
decades of abnormal
if not
aberrant
burning
poisoning of land and sky
and shall we mention water for
the nonce
in
all we’ve done
the state of pipes
e.g.
and each of us may now
take part
though most of us were not decision-makers
in the melting of
our
atmospheric health
while this is not an issue save as
breathing might be
one
it is not a choice in politics
whether or not
the Texas-sized hole in the ozone
exists
(which could be less regarding relative
in danger)
and I
was saying it’s
a lamb-ish kind of day
and here
it is
if pale
in the hope that with the season
all colors and movements
there
in climate
shall become robust
in
spite of things and
even as a cosmic
gift
to us
in most zones
if not them
all
by new-normal and by worn-plastic
rather literal
causes
c l couch
photo by Mitchell Orr on Unsplash
from the tent it is a sand and then a water world
I set my shoes
outside
as if I were entering
sancrosanctity
though really the sand-filled things
would not be convenient
in the tent
still
something east of here
and like a desert
calling
and I guess deserts go to coastlines
too
as this beach doesn’t go to desert
actually
but in its narrow strip
still calls what
to us might be
exotic wanderlust
c l couch
from a prompt provided by Melissa Lemay at https://melissalemay.wordpress.com/2025/03/24/melissas-fandango-flash-fiction-challenge-313/ (photo by Sara Cottle on Unsplash)
my thanks for Melissa!
https://melissalemay.wordpress.com/
(at) https://melissalemay.wordpress.com/2025/03/24/melissas-fandango-flash-fiction-challenge-313/
Hello! Welcome to Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge. Each week I will post an image I grab off the internet and challenge bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the image. There are no style or word limits.
If this week’s image inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post and use the tag #FFFC. Please create a pingback to this post and/or manually add your link in the comments. I hope it will generate some great posts. Don’t forget to stop back and read/comment on the posts of others.
Thank you for participating!
cherish is the word
the spooky tree
I just heard mention of
a “spooky tree”
trees are spooky
I suppose
or can be especially when given
the Hallowe’en shape
and
association
though trees are green as well
and the green parts
we are drawn
to
for all they are as well as
what they mean
green
la vida
(not loca)
we have had an equinox
lately
and so we’re on a kind of edge
or cusp
in
not so much
the sky-shape of the moon
and how the stars
are
traveling
or even tables of tides
or even
Zodiac zones
we are on a line
an edge
a cusp
and spring should follow
normally
though we have put the seasons on an edge
as well
through what we’ve done to sky
water
and ground
our edge
(related to the others)
is made up of
resolve
which the other things with lines and such
can’t muster
we choose the Earth
we choose
the sky
the water
and the ground
and we choose each other
in the kind of
relation
that comes with deciding our part
of the cosmos
(sometimes
consideration is that
big)
what shall we choose
and
how to live
we have a cusp for timing
there’s no point in
despotism
we can be equal in each other’s eyes
and
all selective senses
and
yes
there’s good
and there is evil
and they need attending
for each is in the world
as each is
in
and from
each of us
we have to keep a world
governments and industries
we should value life
our lives
in whatever motley way we have life
once
we have it
and it goes on
the isms have their place
though they should be mollified by
things
mentioned through ages
befitting
old
and new
and renewed
c l couch
“Cherish” is a song written by Terry Kirkman and recorded by The Association. “Cherish” was released in 1966.
Photo by USGS on Unsplash[--]Soaring, snow-capped peaks and ridges of the eastern Himalaya Mountains create an irregular white-on-red patchwork between major rivers in southwestern China. The Himalayas are made up of three parallel mountain ranges that together extend more than 2,900 kilometers. [From USGS.] (And it looks a bit like a Hallowe’en tree. From me.)
clcouch123 
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