afterlife

good and plenty
(not that I’m a fan of licorice)

God is good
and God is here

we reach out
to God
while we are here
wishing ours were better
when it’s
not

and also taking time
and sharing words of thanksgiving
for part of that
good
we have

and life goes mingled this way
even
with the Lord
and we persist in this adulterated life
because we should and is
our impulse to go
on

not
to wish ourselves to heaven
way before it’s time
or
whenever
the surprise to know

with
sadness left behind
while on the way toward joy in paradise

and this
is how it goes
as well
a mingled afterlife

and
not
to say this life is a rehearsal only
for it’s not

while it is for what comes after
it is its own
for dreaming and for realizing dreams
with
accountability along the way

so if frustrating
not
to have virtue instantly
rewarded
there is nonetheless
far-down peace that rises
through our flesh and to
our eyes
and mouths

to exude and share
what
we might know of lasting joy
that like the class activity to tell and
show

even the love of God and love as God
on Earth

c l couch

(allusion aside, the candy licorice fan would be my sister)

photo by The Nix Company on Unsplash


Let It Go

I should write early
Then release it
Each piece a journey
If a stroll

And like a tapestry
There’s thread
And there’s a loom

Something
On which something else
Is framed

The work
The weave
Go out in directions
And make patterns
And there are
The damaged parts

But it’s a
Piece at last
For all our senses
And
Overall
The sense in things


[here’s an example, first thing out most recent session, not revised to death—or life if it can’t reach]


Consideration of the Afterlife and Through-Life

So what happens next
The short answer is that we don’t know
The long answer is
We hear things

Saint Paul tells
There shall be no pain
And our bodies shall be perfect
Perfected
That is
Through some sort of transformation
Some new alignment of
The spirit and the flesh

We have stories from
Those who have
Gone
And then come back
And I don’t know
These stories
Seem
To go along with ancient texts
Of many traditions
Many followings

And
Do we translate somehow
Right away
And where might judgment be
How might it
Happen

Christians say there shall be
Advocacy
In what transpires
And that we could
Be secure of heaven
Not for being
Good
In an unerring way
But for belief
Solely by belief

Sola Dei
Sola Christus

Other groups have other ways
To understand and have
The same
To be respectful and to say
Sola-something else
Sola-someone else

We don’t know what we don’t know
But it seems
We do know things
Though it’s all
So abstract
And invisible

What happens
And criteria
Could be clearer
And frankly sensible
As in
Assuring to the senses
That we have

It all would be
Frankly
Less frightening
As well

But then our will would have no place
It seems
And for the loss of Eden
It also seems
That what we choose
Does matter
And there might be no higher stakes
In fact

Sigh
I wish it were all easier
Though even angels
Without will
We say
Manage to rebel

So all things choose
Perhaps
Nature chooses
In the changing seasons
In responding to
New
And ongoing circumstances

So try to believe
Appears to be the way
Do well
Do good
Because it’s better
More uplifting
More constructive
Evidencing of itself
The better way

Thinking
And feeling better
Too

Children
Believe
For we are all the children
And belief is our
Incumbency

Our legacy
Our lore
The words of God to tell
And evidence in
Nature
Clear enough for being made
By God

C L Couch


Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash 

“And in death they were not divided. 2 Sam.1.23” (for translation programs)