12 February 2024
today is
Lincoln’s birthday
as I recall
most years
uncongealed
from the
single
Presidents Day
and
yes
ten days from now
is Washington’s
Lincoln was
from Kentucky
as was I
though much taller
when he grew
much taller
about everything
adding that hat
for greater
height
he split rails
the kind for fences
I believe
maybe to be ready for
a fenced-in nation
he took us
through the worst
making mistakes
I’m sure
and losing children
maybe
tens of thousands
of these
whose names
might as well have been
Edward
William
Thomas who went by
Tad
the ones who died then
and the others
later on
as
a tragic legacy
and in two days we’ll celebrate
romantic love
which has me recall
the story of
how Lincoln first encountered
Mary Todd
saying he’d like to dance
with her
in the worst way
and then
proceeding to prove that
and she endured
poorly
as the war happened
and then
once it was over
she lost her family
viscerally
terribly
one child remained
as company
for her
remaining days
the President would turn
215 today
which means
he wouldn’t
but in remembrance
where his years
as in heritage
are eternal
he made mistakes
I’m sure
but he was whom
we needed
for splitting fences
in and of
themselves
the biggest
worst metaphors
barriers
having been made
by slavery
with other interests
from the states
that having been decided
in a sibling war
could turn out be
the U.S.A.
a single entity
imperfect
but so far indivisible
again
c l couch
photo by Ron Graham on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Chalk Calculations on the Head of a Shovel
x
Sunday
Is Lincoln’s birthday
I like this guy
Though I probably
Don’t know why
And don’t know enough
Why maybe
I should not
x
What I know
Is that he was born
In Kentucky
(me, too)
And he grew tall
(not me)
And had a sense of humor
(played pranks)
And could split rails
And was a failure
At nearly anything he tried
Except
The holding of one office
To which he was elected,
The one and he
That we remember
x
Republicans
Were upstarts then
And maybe have their best
In their first
‘Cause he was pretty good
Flawed
Perhaps greatly,
Haunted
By the losses
In his family
And in the losses in
The nation’s family
x
He was a kind of
Savior to that nation
In a conflict
That many folk
Did not take too seriously
Taking picnics
Borne in carriages
To watch the battle like
Watching
A tournament
x
And then the bullets
And the missiles
Spoke to say
There is no recreation
And four years later
(every war is Pyrrhic)
Everyone who breathed
Said for themselves
And for everyone
No longer drawing breath
This is enough
Let’s have an ending
To the ruinous process
We drew upon ourselves
For growing up
A country
Four years
As an age
x
He freed the slaves
Many people freed the slaves
Among them slaves
x
The many battles,
Wounds and deaths
Disease
Formulative scars later
And the war
Was over
Save the carpetbagging
And the agonizing irony
Of Reconstruction
x
But first
By the assassination’s bullet
He was removed
From everything we know
And might improve
x
Johnson tried
But was impeached
Though not convicted
And was left
To practice
What we recall as an ineffectual
Administration
x
The remains
Of Abraham
Were taken from the capitol
To Springfield
For burial
While we’ve had nearly
Eight-score years
To count his steps
And missteps
But he was carried
And placed over stone
And under earth
For silence
x
And shall we say he’s great?
Greatness is
On the inside
Of a life
And then through what is done
And if we can reason there
We may only with
Minimal compunction
Call him great
x
Once we have decided,
We should relate the news
To the President
Maybe
Before his tomb
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Split Life
(12 February)
x
Today is the birthday
Of Abraham Lincoln
Peer Kentuckian
Who finished growing up
Somewhere else
First Republican
And best
Sixteenth President
And we will argue
x
Tall, wearing a beard because
Someone said it would
Look good
Splitter of rails
And he had other talents
Self-taught
Until he got to schools
Lawyer, legislator
Failed entrepreneur
Failed at many jobs
Not a success story
Until the one great thing
x
Freer of slaves, though hardly alone
In that
Slavery should never
Have happened;
We’ve been paying for it ever since
Until together
We might march on
x
Moderator of the Civil War
What a wicked way
To spend one’s fifties
Railed (another way)
Until an overwhelming victory
Came to pass
And then
To count the dead
And give them stones
Play “Dixie” on the White House lawn
Killed a few days later
(not for that)
x
His remains buried back in
Springfield, Illinois
His body for the nation
His spirit unto judgment
Thence we hope
To paradise
And so it could be
For all
x
C L Couch
x
x
split-rail fence at Gettysburg
photograph by Jesse Lee Tucker – own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51840069
x
Today Is the Birthdate of Abraham Lincoln
Today is the birthdate of Abraham Lincoln.
Born in a three-sided cabin. Named for his
Grandfather, killed in a struggle with
Indigenous people. Abraham (the second)
Grew tall, used his height to play pranks on
His mother. Used to do math calculation
By the fire. Grew up, tried many things.
Such as storekeeper, postmaster. Failed at
Them all. Did learn to split wood for rails.
Did pass the bar (a win or failure still to be
Determined). Spent his childhood in Kentucky,
Not so far from Louisville. Then went to
Illinois, Springfield. Joined a law practice
As a junior partner. Ran for public office. Lost.
Somehow became a candidate in the new
And upstart (liberal) Republican Party.
Possessed an eloquence none could fathom
But all (most all) respected. Maybe breathing
Air above the rest was an assist. This is the
Thing he won, became our sixteenth
President. And the best. We know what
Happens next.
There is a terrible war. He guides us through.
He dedicates a cemetery with 270 words
(Thereabouts) that come to shiver the whole
World. For many reasons, he declares
Black slaves free, something the founding
Leaders of the nation could not or would not
Do. He leads into victory. He orders “Dixie”
To be played by his band upon the White
House lawn.
He wanted to heal the nation. He never got
The chance. Surely, goodness and mercy
Follow and attend him. And he, if any, dwells
In the house of the Lord.
C L Couch
Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Lincoln is slightly left of center, just behind the mass of blurry people, facing the camera, head slightly down and tilted to his right (camera left).
David Bachrach – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ds.03106. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons: Licensing for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5127661
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