New Pages in a Book of Hours
The liturgy
As clouds for notes
Against the sky
An antiphon of leaves
As wind
Blows through them
As candlelight
Reflections
Off of water
And should anything
Feathered
Or mammalian
Be chirping
Chittering
We’ll take that as
Responding to
The sun as celebrant
C L Couch
Photo by Ginabell Andujar on Unsplash
Attempt
At church it was announced
Someone tried to kill
Donald Trump
It happened in Butler
And I don’t know the circumstances
Though I know Butler
A small town
Up Route 8 from where I used to live
Go through town
Turn left
Go on to school
From there
A smallish town
It was
And I don’t know how it is
Today
My being some hundreds of miles
Away
(not having gone back
in years)
Once my team and I
Played on the radio
There
Sang and taught some
Gospel
Parochial
Some would say
American
An easy place to hold a rally
Until yesterday
I could wish him to drop out
(I have wished)
But
Never
Never
Never
In this way
(and he won’t)
And someone died
Someone else died in the attempt
Then (also) the shooter
Others hurt
While so many of us feel wounded
This morning
In church
And in the nation
After the announcement
The Doxology was
Sung
A song of faith
As are all songs of service
Sung
In parts
In harmony
In earnest
C L Couch
Photo by Josh Eckstein on Unsplash
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
who knows
(there might be a question of syntax)
yet
simply
God bless
you today
for the reason of
between
you and God
that’s love
and in wisdom might
be tied a little tighter by
the need
by the terminus
of us
or simply because joy
is in the bonding
that doesn’t catch the air
as if to hold
but lets us breathe
rather
in freedom
by relationship
untyrannical
with interest in
the stewardship of all we are
by one
who counts
most practically
by numbers that are love
for the sake
of intense belief
like startling eyes
yet
in all of us
yes
what that means
regardless
and respectful
work out that conundrum
while we live
and have
the blessing
in
the making and
the keeping
c l couch
photo by Liana S on Unsplash
Kyiv, Ukraine
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
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