Play On
Ritchie
Shakespeare
Imagine
A Greek tyrant
Wanting to recline
The empress of China
A maharajah wile
Inventing chess
A serf requesting
At a wedding
In the town
Near the church
An indigenous anywhere
In freer times
Asking for a harmony
‘Twixt the spirits of the sky
And the ground
Maybe the soil
A supplication for good growth
A lady of the Medici
Also in tyranny
Why not
The queen of heaven
Of the angels
Or God upon the first
Easy sabbath
That there be music
To accompany
The vibrations of creation
Please
Who can
And please
Who will be pleased
Play on
C L Couch
Photo by Riley Bartel on Unsplash
Francis and Me
(not unlike/not really like Ben and Me, book by Robert Lawson, film by Disney)
I’m too tired
Got up because
I was up
Got coffee for the ritual
And pleasure
From
The ritual
I’m writing
Though it’s gunk-like
Like old oil
That hasn’t yet been cleaned away
Nearly
Enough
From the machine
Replace the batteries
As well
Or something like
For charge
Get into it
But it’s a push
Against the hours I have lost
Again
Against pre-morning
Early-light
Fractal illumination
I ask
Of myself
As audience
While illumination
Of all kinds
Tries
To creep in
Over the factual sill
And the one
To
The mind
Over the parts
That sense
And I happen
Out of nerd-like interest (maybe)
Or a patriot’s dream
To think
About
Pre-dawn
Near a fort
On a ship
Neither so far away
(to ask)
How soon did he
How soon
Did Francis spy
The flag
Then write while on the ship
After uncertainty except
The fact of
(not a doorframe but)
A battle
Overnight
C L Couch
(starting at 4:30)
“The Fact of a Doorframe” is a poem by Adrienne Rich (title of book, too, “Selected Poems”)
Photo by Jamie Morrison on Unsplash
Poeming Also
A poem on
Anything
Not so difficult
Say
A listing of ingredients
Gives rise
As an epic
Choose
Something else
You know
Something like a star
Track the wording
How shall the phrases
Speak
To one thing
Or how many
Craft
Revise
Get it out
Not
Done ‘til we do that
C L Couch
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
[next one should begin "poeming also/really difficult"]
Look Me Over
(which—I’ll beat you to it—might imply overlook me)
I don’t know what
To say
Which is usually the case
As a daily thing
Until
It seems
I say something
Unprofound
A little
Story
Maybe
Something without pith
But might have some care
At words
Anyway
Some thoughtful
Phrasing
Maybe not
Totally
Unmeaningless
And all for you
And now how lucky
You must
Feel
But have a good
Day
Please
(regardless)
You deserve the rise and fall
From light
To dark
The best
Travel through
The twofold
Day
(of twenty-four)
Upon
Our Earth
C L Couch
Photo by Shot by Cerqueira on Unsplash
I’m Sure You Have Such Days
God is great
And on this day
I don’t feel
Great
And so much would
Rather
Rest
In God’s greatness
Honestly
And honestly
To breathe
Not through the air of
My own
Righteousness
Rather
In the justice
Come from Micah
Come from John
The prophets and the angels
Confidently
Uttering
And
For our reliance on
The voice of God
Of justice
Yes
And frankly
Closer to the core of need
Especially today
The voice
Of love
C L Couch
Photo by Vivek Doshi on Unsplash
in church
I tuned in
they don’t know I’m here
but the God of electrons
which is too small
too residual
for that
to make a difference
to me
except now when I’m thinking of
electrons
and God
c l couch
photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash
on line, online—get it?
Earth out
last one here
before the last ship leaves
think about
turning off the lights
who knows
we could come back
or someone
to try the switch
light up our story
if only
a little
while it’s so hot and hard to breathe today
c l couch
photo by Piotr Gaertig on Unsplash
Now the Fifth of July
(in the USA and everywhere that has the day)
Now it matters
The purpose of the fireworks
And picnics
After the celebration
And we hope the
Cleaning up
The life begins
That matters
Because it’s every day
It might not have ribbons floating
Over
Celebrations
It might not afford
Much by way of
Worldly excitement
Being
You know
Ordinary
But here it is
And here’s the test
Which is all right
Because
It’s all the same
We fail to live
We fail
After all
We choose to live
And bless the every day
We have a chance for
A nation
And a world
C L Couch
Photo by Norbert Braun on Unsplash
Open Air
(a day for independence in the offing)
The wars go on
The war at home
Matters of manipulation
Clearly
We are way too comfortable
To bandy with the truth
Rather than considering the need
In each other
Then
Over there
Wherever there
We know
Might be
And if we don’t feel right
Inside/outside
And
What have you
We could always pause
Easing up
To take a breath that isn’t pressed upon
Free to assess
Who’s and what’s important
To find it isn’t politics
Pretenses toward power
But that the real
That isn’t on a screen
Or in an ad
Involves
Instead
A word
An act
Toward love
The smallest thing to do
To make a difference
Sometimes accumulative
A cascade formed
Like the surprise
To hear in water
Over rocks and such
Inside the forest where
Truth is kept
Inside the given
Green and blue
The authenticity in
Nature
Even though it claws
Sometimes
In truth
For protest
Of destruction
Life
Actual hurt
Real need
We can live for these
To answer these
With practicality and
This
Not politics
Or profit
Except
To serve
Rather
To call it love
C L Couch
(on 2 July)
Photo by Bri Tucker on Unsplash
(Holland, Michigan)
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