(later, same day)
the first post will have to stand; it’s too much in the system or cyberspace or something
so here's an entry for today, more accurate to the date; I hope the verse is all right with you
(please and thank you)
Thursday the Thirteenth
no big deal
walk under ladders
break
your mirrors
your
own
ignore the cats
which is to
say
be good to cats in the way you are
each day
and really don’t break mirrors
and be safe
with
ladders
and still be nice to cats
all cats
though no superstition holds
no
special degree of penalty or
reward for honoring
the small things
yet
with consequence
we might think
we should
believe
have a normal day
and
tomorrow will be a superstition-free Friday
the Fourteenth
and we may ask ourselves
if we
wish
today or tomorrow or later on
the weekend if
we should
wathc out any day regarding superstitions
though folklore has its place as well
as
an attitude of prevention
and a good with-care weekend to you
fates
and
more so
divinities allowing
c l couch
photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash
and I'm wrong--for some reason I thought today was Friday, and it's Thursday except maybe on a side of the Internation Dateline (though on Earth it will not be anywhere for now a Friday the thirteenth)
I'm not sure what exactly to do; ideally, I'll cancel this post and put in another--we'll see, stand by (please and thank you)
be kind to sable cats
and careful where the ladders are
my goodness
it’s a Friday the Thirteenth
and yesterday there was an eclipse
and we had the orange moon
and are having meteors
just now
so what do the heavens laid out by calendars
foretelling
to which the better reply might be
not a thing at least
for
those of us who do not know
who aren’t
practitioners but simply
live
as best we may
have the day
be nice
to cats
all colors
watch out for safety with our ladders
and try for practicality
not
to break mirrors
this concern a matter of safety
too
or to trip on cracks
which I know
I can do
and now I wonder if our
root concerns
for that category of cultural
life
you know
superstitions
does not
aim
to promote a preventiveness
regarding domestic peril
so
to avoid
well
in whatever way for
whatever
reason
I hope this is a good with-caution day for you
with
care at hand or close by
should something smally wounding
happen
good
safe weekend
too
c l couch
photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash
so I wrote about all sorts of serious stuff, then encountered an advertisement with these cats who were presented with the stuff of perfect pleasure, then found myself writing about them and that, and then wrote of dogs as well for ecumenicity’s sake—enjoy (please)
cosmic cats
(dramatic dogs)
1
nice cats
noisy
cats
could be siblings
certainly assuaged by
special cat food
mom has used the last
for them
and they are happy
for the moment
thankfully
dad is at the store
getting more
good food
longer-happy cats
what more
could
pet parents want
2
cats
have a k
and comic sound
while
dogs
is softer
and adorable
both were wild once
and even
now
we should take
care
for impulse
becomes instinct
upon
how they’re treated
so
treat them like home
and they will live with you
and guard you
love you
in their trained
and wild
ways
3
there are allergies
also pills
and sprays
and shots
I was allergic
to my cat
which I found out
ten years into having her
so guess who stayed
she said I could
as well
we keep our pets
and they
keep us
and so the ordered
more chaotic
world
is kept a little better
for a while
longer
c l couch
(our pets, of course, include more kinds of creatures)
photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Triscuit Decks a Phobia
x
I keep forgetting
That when the first is on a Sunday
There will be a Friday
The thirteenth
I have to pay attention
Though I’m not afraid
I find it interesting
The day
The superstition
All our reactions
When we realize
x
There’s the Irish in me
Or you
Or the Italian or the Russian
The Kenyan
Or the Māori
Part of you
x
Loki
Raven
Anansi
All the mischief-makers
Plus phantom pronouncements
On the cracks
Under the ladders
With the black cats
Passing by
x
The weight of superstition
Better to wear it lightly
Over souls
Keep a thought
Let it drive you
Toward civility
With an interest in
What drives an utterance
Of the Scottish play
Inside the theatre
In another play’s production
x
Maybe ghosts will tell us
Why it matters
Since the ethereal
If not the numinous
Is attached
And coursing through
The old sources
And our own,
Both inventing things
For cautions
In our day
x
n. b.
x
Be nice to black cats
They are not superstition;
They could have stanched
The plague
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash
x
(space = x)
x
x
Any Day Now
x
Sigh,
It’s Friday, Lord
I exhale into the day
Sunlit
Upon the floor
A cat might be happy
There
x
I can’t
Keep the news
In my head
I know it’s hard
Sometimes
There’s something good
To help the day
We’re breathing through
And gently taking from
x
Our cats and dogs
Upon our floors
And all the strays
We made
An age ago
And should take in
As well
x
All the causes
Everything that moves us
And should bind us,
The catastrophes
We should see each other
Through,
Which make us ready for
A triumph
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Matheus Queiroz on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
On the Ecumenism of Species
x
Dogs and cats should share
Often, they do
They share heat when it’s cold
They can share toys
They can treat each other
As toys
Food is another matter
Their systems are different
So unless it’s An Incredible Journey
Situation,
They should eat apart
And eat apart
Be who each other is
They can rest together
Often, they do
And enjoy God’s-creature status
Both, together
All, together
Now
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Madalyn Cox on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
I Hope the Dogs and Cats Are Well
x
I heard stories about them
Early in the war
Not so much now
There might be zoos
I remember that detail
In a story by Unamuno
About the end of the world
And the wild animals getting out
But dogs and cats need our help
They always do
We made them that way
Adapted them for use
And took away their other capabilities
How could they stand up to wolves
Or bears or badgers
Wolverines
Or unknown men and women
With machine guns
Who have no familiar smells
Nothing about them
To indicate
Friend
Or family
Or home
Cats and dogs might do all right
With welcome from the stranger
But in battlefields
The anonymities are too severe
And the cruelties
Tend to pile up
Where did they go?
Where are the ones I was protecting?
I do not know anyone
Anything
Anymore
x
C L Couch
x
Photo by troy williams on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Species Speak Out
x
Is there a dog
In doggerel?
How about a dog
In dogma?
And while we’re at it,
Should it not be called
Godma?
x
I’m sure there is
A certain species
That, should we understand
And grasp
The elevated obvious,
Should know
Things are better served
By catterel
And catma
x
C L Couch
x
x
Love between Dogs and Cats
Photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash
x
Friday Felines
I will see cat-friends tonight
They will ignore me
I’m not feeding them
They’ll act as if they do not play
Though I know it’s different
One friend
Erstwhile Pennsylvania Quaker
Might decide it’s time for
A first-floor chase
Or to jump on me, reach toward my
Ear as if to say
Quietly through sharpened teeth,
Feed me
C L Couch
2 Chome-4-8 Daiba, Minato, Tokyo 135-0091, Japan
clcouch123 
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