clcouch123

Narratology

 

Intermission

 

It’s a new gray day

We had a thunderstorm last night

Hard to tell from the second floor,

Which is too bad

Because I like watching rain

It wasn’t the kind that cleans out

The humidity

More like a tropical experience

Hot and humid for the next spate

Of days, our daily rainfall

Followed by more closeness

In the air

Sigh

Keep the breathing on the inside

And hope the air-conditioner

Holds out

 

Interaction

 

The headaches are a little less

I feel more like

Talking with people

Or a pet

A quiet day

But not silent

Though once again

The mean noise from upstairs

Continues

I have to get out of here

I looked at a place last week

A garret, I could call it

To be romantic

But I expect higher ceilings

Wider windows

In my life of La Bohème

More importantly

And to the point or searching,

I need these

The claustrophobe inside

Requires them

More sighing for a disappointment

This time as much

In myself

 

Intercession

 

The world is still on fire

If only it were a matter

Of volcanoes*

Bad enough, though we could

Work on them together

There are the metaphoric fires

That are deadly, too

The kind we set

In a plan

To burn up each other

 

My dear world is on fire

Why must we do this?

Calling it a crime is not enough

When enforcement is

In question, too

I used to think the cops

Were on my side

I still do

As for other people,

There are all kinds

Some see a protest

As an opportunity for

Stealing so much more than

Civil attention

 

And there are guns

So many guns

All around

Without the trained sense

To use them

Much less over-use them

So people die

On all sides

How many didn’t have to?

 

Let’s not leave it with a question

Let’s answer them

In memory

To bring the count down

And then out upon the canvas

In this case,

The opposite of conscious

I know I preach

But there it is

I want my world better

It want to leave it better

Than I found it

You should, too

So should we all

 

Ask for this

Ask for peace

Then let us make it happen

 

Shooting something’s easy

Keeping a farm

Mining a mine

Building a rocket**

Assembly in a factory

That’s hard

You want a challenge?

Try building something

Raise a barn

A house

A cabin in the woods

Make art for many to love

Compose an inspiration

Maybe on a page

In a mural

Or a house

Or in fixing the plumbing

Anything can be

Larger than it is

Convenience

Comfort

These can be inspiration, too

Or simply means for

A good conversation on a Sunday afternoon

(there should be peace in that)

Voting is an inspiration, too

Don’t forget

Or take the government you get

(cheating nationwide and

in the world notwithstanding)

Talk out the world

Talk out the trouble

Better yet, listen

And fix the plumbing

 

Feed everyone around you,

If you can

And if you can’t, then enjoy

What is given

Or otherwise provided

Maybe a pot-luck

Like the kind at church

Maybe a pot-luck for the world

 

That is my intercession

Feed the world

Provide safety in the water

Make good wine

In memory of Cana

Or don’t, if it’s not

Your disposition

There are problems

Hear them

Then get help in fixing them

 

There are problems

We have a way to go

To have the world

Better than we found it

 

C L Couch

 

 

*I looked up the plural spelling of volcano.  (Once-and-future English teacher.)  Some say the spelling’s interchangeable with the e.  Volcanoes (with the e) seems more traditional and typical.  Also the e in interchangeable.

**I was watching October Sky over the weekend.

 

Photo by Jorik Kleen on Unsplash

(there was no note, but I believe the bridge is in the Netherlands)