Wollstonecraft
I wonder if
Mary felt she lived between
One esteemed family
And the other
And if she
Felt pleased to be there and contribute
To the two of
If she felt
Maybe also felt
That there was not a place that was
Her own
Elizabeth Barrett
(later)
Evidently needed rescuing from
Robert Browning
And
(later)
Virginia Woolf would argue that a
Room of one’s own
Is needed
But for this
Romantic person
For
The time
But also something else
Who wrote of
Human
Nature especially relied on
In extraordinary situations if
There was
An exploration to of
Of how
Might
And could
If need be
Live in parts
Wollstonecraft
Godwin
Shelley
Some parts extended
Maybe some parts broken off
And then if be like
The cat’s third name
She
Had her secret part
Her own
C L Couch
(Mary was the daughter of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft; Mary was also the wife of poet Percy Shelley—and I wonder who was Mary in between, of both, on her own
and regarding Frankenstein, also I wonder and in this case over who is the monster, who is the monster now)
Photo by Branimir Balogović on Unsplash
“Same Old,” “Same New,” two poems about faith and doubt (or doubt and faith)
Same Old
I’ve written
On these themes before
And sorry for
The repetition
Sometimes
I know
And deal in the same
The seasons
Say
Because these things wear well
At least on me
Like shoes that fit
At last
Or stories that we like
To tell
The substance of Dad
Jokes
No doubt
But here I deal
Because
I must confess that some things get
To me
Which might be sole motivation
For
Classic-worthy writers
(like the class that earns
gold medals)
but
Sometimes I fear as well in addition to
The trouble
Heartless
Of the intellect
Where do we go
And why the lack of permission
To know
I could take gnosis or agnosis
I suppose
But beyond
Secret knowledge
And the memberships
How do we
Know
As anyone
To know for
Real
When even feelings of assurance
Fail
While our God says
Through lore
That God loves us
And wants
If not aches
For all of us be joined with God sometime
Well
The testimonies that we have
Discuss doubt
Even in those right before the Lord
Not
For us
From ages past
Hmm
Maybe there’s something there
In I believe
Help my unbelief
The
Salvation formula clearly given
And yet
One must admit to doubting
Even in the face
Or by the words of
God
Moses
Miriam
Others
With the loving parent brought before
The Christ
In order for the child to be healed
And told
Believe
Is all
And must say to Christ
I believe
And I don’t believe
And I must ask you to help me
In the second
Maybe both
And then
You know
Without a test
(a further test perhaps)
The child is healed
Mark 9
You can Thurber-look it up
Yet there is doubt
To read
And doubt
To have
And finally the doubt beneath the doubt
Like the last temptations
We have heard
About
The final doubt that maybe all
Must face
In that all this of faith is real
With the results
Rewards
Perhaps
Truly
Taking place
And for faith we are heaven-sent
And then heaven-arrived
I believe
Help my unbelief
We come from God
We go to God
No doubt
Same New
And why
Should it have to go this way
Maybe not
If there were no
Postlapsarian
Maybe unfallen
Our impulse would be clear
That we are here
To tend
A garden
And each other
Build a planet
With
Because we have
Approval of the Lord
Maybe Love divine
All loves
Excelling
That with will
We go the first way
The way set up
The way
Hoped for
By the creator who must weep
Maybe turn angry when
We go the other way
The way
Of life we know
We have
Regardless of our knowing
Even
Rather mindlessly
Living for the self and for
Enough freedom
To live
In hard times
Or
Take despot-like because
Soft
Times are desired and
We might get away
With that
For those aware of virtues
To follow or
Desist
For those facing temptation
To give in
Or resist
Well
We could be puppets of the Lord
And
We are not
And there are consequences
To the will
We choose with harder judgments on
Those who steal choices
From others
And notions of paradise are fine
Truly fine
But cannot be realized here
Or any institution
Since
All things collective are inhabited
After all
By us
The way we are
And so paradise is distant
So distant as to be unreachable
Before
An afterlife
When and where
Forgiven things are not
Extant and the honest life put down
Is raised
To live inside
A new
And everlasting
Trend
Sigh
Outside of Eden
Where it’s hard
Though
Maybe we’d have had hard work
For perform in there
With
The work meaning delight
For
The change from how we treat work
Have work treat us
Now
Well
We live now
And may look forward
Toward something beyond
A worldly end
To something
Perelandra-like
Means
Both a willful and
Sinless life
Even
A planet’s existence
Decided
The right way from Eden
C L Couch
Perelandra, novel by C. S. Lewis; “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” hymn by Charles Wesley; Mark 9 in the Christian New Testament; “You Could Look It Up,” short story by James Thurber
Photo by Paolo Bendandi on Unsplash
BELIEF (for translation)
Lyon, France
the sparrow falls and
maybe God picks the spirit
up to take it home
c l couch
(Matthew 10:29-31)
photo by Jacques LE HENAFF on Unsplash
In Air
Air crashes
Recent
Victims
And the rest
No way to think
Feel
What they thought
Felt
Yes
There might be messages
Then what
To do
For now
I’m only learning
Think the thoughts about what happened
Feel
Miserably
That’s all
For now
Well
Try to accompany those
Closer in
C L Couch
Photo by SH Lam on Unsplash
To Serve with Love
(and what more)
I am very tired
Lord
And what do you have for me
Anyway
To try
And in the promises
Accomplish
Until the will is to move
Something else
Along
And there is a part
To play in
That
And with unknown others to complete
And so
Let my service for you
By
Your will
Maybe have
In part
Divine surprise
And if I suss well
Be
Satisfied
With the enormous will
I do
Or will not know
If in
A cloud
Of unknowing
C L Couch
Photo by Daoudi Aissa on Unsplash
(The Cloud of Knowing is a medieval text of Christian mysticism.)
how about haiku
seventeen to mend with gold
broke to kintsugi
c l couch
photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash
Storied
Happy new year
To all the lunar people
(so to say
and)
In and of
Asia
And maybe as a challenge to exclusive
Solar thinking
You
(us)
Lunar
Lunared
People everywhere
A happy new year
With
Remembrance and call
That there
Are other
Ways to count even the global things
Such as
Our time
And
Even our seasons upon
Earth
Not
To mention that
The folk today get
Dragons
C L Couch
Photo by Alexander Ant on Unsplash
Nicholas Arvid Danielson-Buzoianu
the baby born
healthy
mom
too
and dad is coping
as are all as the little world
is now so
much bigger
huge
in fact
while all are here now and
and all preparing
the cats are learning
(or will
be soon)
that the new furniture
and
other changes
aren’t for them
and shall with all
adjust
but goodness how
everything is
new
just
now and aren’t we glad
to guess
by events that
love might be
what
turns the world
to good
and gold
and everything that’s precious
nearly
maybe as
this newborn child
c l couch
photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
As Honestly as Able
(praying)
God
As honestly as I am able
I do pray
For people
As in
As for
The thumping child upstairs
With the thumping
Mother
Keep them
And I’ll try to mean not as the Czar
So far
Away
(the rabbi’s prayer from the musical)
And
Yeah
I’ll pray for politicians
Too
And try to think of something loving to ask
For them
If not
Of them
And
Yes
The secret world
Behind the visible where people
Meet and think
To plan
To execute
The running of the rest
The visible
Unhiding world
God
Be with all or us and we should say
According to you will
And
Of course we should
I’m sorry
That’s confession that I think
So hard of things sometimes or wish to
Re-create if
Never
In my image
Yours being
Glorious enough
I hear
Because how glorious is
Perfection
Friends
Families
My own adversaries
Keep
Them all wherever
However you
Deem
Because you’re deeming’s good
Being
In fact
The best
Amen
C L Couch
Photo by Javier Ortiz on Unsplash
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