murmuring
what shall we do tonight
I think I shall lie in
though
quiet so much better when
you are around
and also making your
home noise
thank you for companionship
above
below the skin
the sense
of things
c l couch
photo by Gui Avelar on Unsplash
Long Exhale Now and Then
Exhale
And then a little more
Get it out
Whatever it
Might
Be
More than
A pulmonary test
Or getting the bad air out
As
In a cartoon
Getting into meditation
Only if
There is
The time
Otherwise
Breathe out
As
You would have to do
Anyway
You know to
Keep on living
But let it out
A little more
Not as an exercise
As much
As to
Let a little more
Of the bad air
Out
The promise also
Taking of
A little more
Of the good air
In
By God
In a kind of sponsorship
And also of companionship
Two promises
Not if
But as
They happen
Irascible
Indelible
Perfection in divine reality
As well as perfection
In the offing for the rest of us
Maybe
Beneath the angels
(the war in heaven notwithstanding)
For the mortal
Rest of us
C L Couch
Photo by Laura Ohlman on Unsplash
God Buy Ye
God be with you
‘Til we meet again
As God is with you
Now
Which is to say
With us
And a hope
Therefore
For company
As you go upon the Earth
And through the
Changeable
Sometimes trap-laden
Population
God with you
God with me
If I may say
And certainly with us
Mine
And yours
Better than Mizpah
Certainly
More so
When Moses met the king
With the stone heart
More like near the rock
In fact
Where water
Leaped to save us
Or like Galilee
Where thousands met
To hear
The saving word
God keep you
And us
Even through
Maybe a long time
‘Til
We meet again
C L Couch
God buy ye, a Medieval understanding of salvation (paying a condemnation’s ransom with the coin that was Christ’s life); God be with ye a wish for spiritual company and comfort for a friend; all becomes Goodbye
though ironically I say hello from Pittsburgh where I was brought through cold, some snow to arrive; I get another car here, since mine was totaled (no one hurt except some cars), which is technically the main thing; I get to visit with some family, which is the real thing
hoping your winter days (or summer to the south) are grand,
God be with ye,
Christopher
(x = space)
x
x
Standing By, Maybe Sitting
(maybe kneeling)
x
So what do we know
From presence
Though it’s present
x
Something outside ourselves
Is present
Staying close
Trying to pull us out
Into the world
x
Remind us the making of it
Was community in motion
A nation of the angels
Then of us
Starting with two
x
And the wives of Cain somewhere
x
Miracle
And mysteries
Our bodies otherwise
Would form
Boundaries that won’t give way
Except for weapons
x
But we know there is more
Through the intrusion
Of companionship
Wonderful companionship
Surprise at first
And then we might get used to it
For fondness
And for learning
Of the world
x
A world
As we say
(paraphrase)
Of all the possibilities
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by David Tomaseti on Unsplash
(a candle for companionship)
x
(x = space)
x
x
Piglet and Samwise
x
Piglet and Samwise
Would that
We could
Only think on them
To be them
Or to appreciate
Steadfast
Companions
And companionship
So close to us
x
They’re smart
Don’t miss that
They’re clever
Too
x
Sometimes they carry
Oh
So much
And are capacious
To take on our burdens
Too
x
They trim the verge
They stir the honey
In the pot
For consistency
Well
Of verge
And pot
Or rather
What’s inside
x
They have their homes
But leave them gladly
To find us
And then to journey
With us
When
They reach us
And we tell them
Or somehow we know
We’re moving on
x
You’re leaving
Then
We’re going with you
To the other side of the wood
Or through
Minas Morgul
Into Mordor
x
Like grace
They will go far with us
Wishing to go
The entirety
Of the calling
To adventure
x
And maybe they will
Or maybe there’s a part
We’ll have to go on
All our own
And then
To meet them later
(with success)
Someday to consider
Final matters
(then)
x
And in the mean time
There are parties
And there is
Conversation
On paths
Off the paths
On bridges
Inside when there are storms
Outside
After
x
Christopher Robin once
Said about his mother
Than when she left their home
To wander round
(that is, around)
The hundred-acre wood
Christopher had asked
Would she like him
To go with her?
x
She said no
But when I return
Greet me as if
I had been gone
A long
Long
Time
x
Maybe we always have
Such friends
As heroes or companions
Recalling
We are both
To each other
x
C L Couch
x
x
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh!” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
(cited at or by GoodReads)
x
Piglet, as you know, is the companion to Winnie the Pooh. Samwise (Gamgee) is the gardener and companion to Frodo Baggins, the bearer of the ring in The Lord of the Rings. Each separately or both together was or were mentioned in a sermon that I heard today. I’m sorry I don’t remember why. Jesus had companions, too, though that was not the pastor’s point (or they were not his points).
x
The story of Christopher Robin and his mother is told in The Enchanted Places, an autobiography.
x
Photo by Arwin Neil Baichoo on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Devilry
(the passing mischief)
x
I suppose the devil
Is after me
In a suburban way
After you, too,
I imagine
Maybe there’s a strategy
Maybe the strategy
Is chaos
Lack of plan
To ruin all the plans
x
Temptation, certainly
And also despair
A bright life
Too bright
To cover all the rest
The real pain
The real faith
To get us through
x
The real hope
That’s in the jar
After all the evils
Have escaped
That move around
Outside
And try to set up
House or shop
Church or
Place of work
Lanes of traffic
Bars
Or at the store
x
More so the aim
To find a place inside
To take our rest
And better
Resolutions
x
It’s not a grand
Or grandiose
Establishment,
A studio
With garish sets
Ringed
By biggish cameras
Managed
By phantoms
x
It might look like
The nicest place
We know
Only off in ways
We can identify
Should we be ready
And aware
If only of ourselves,
Our close-in loves
x
Deviation
Hell
The hell of it
Is that it is a trick
As all the stories say
The diabolical
Looks like everything
And is
Nothing
Maybe sound and fury
For a while
‘Til the ending
As the better stories
Say
x
Give in
Or not
It seems easy, I suppose
The wider path
The golden opportunities
The promise of
A winning ticket
While the other way
Purportedly
Is narrow
But certainly accessible
And it gets wider,
Wide enough
For two or more
x
Not to moralize
But moralize
One way is always easy
Joyless
But easy
The other way gets hard
But promises
The peace, we know,
That passes
Understanding
x
Though we always
Understand enough
For the
Irascibility
(and ability)
Of will
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Christmas Campaign
x
Christmas
Is a month away
Precisely
In this year of 2022
Good timing for Black Friday
I don’t understand
They’re only things
And each other’s company
The presents
x
Not to be maudlin
Or mawkish
Sometimes the truth
Must come with syrup
That makes it sweet,
At least
x
I wouldn’t know
How to deal with
Great expectations
Of receiving things
Rather than
Only ourselves
x
There could be meals
Recipes
Desserts
Special drinks
Coffee
We could defend each other
Don’t let people drive
Until they’re ready
Turning out spare rooms
(Spare Oom in Narnia
with a War Drobe)
x
I don’t mean a campaign
And I do
Christmas is love
More than possession
Though there’s nothing wrong
In wanting things
And owning them
And if there are dangers,
I think
You know what they are
x
A month from now
Merry Christmas
It doesn’t have to be sectarian, for
Maybe part
Of Christmas love
Is diversity
And the widest possible
Welcoming
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Andrej Lišakov on Unsplash
x
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, specifically The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
x
(x = speak)
x
x
LoveSpeak
x
What does God’s love say
In the face of danger?
Through many dangers,
Toils, and snares
God’s love says
I’m here
The love is here
The source is here
The host is here
We’re here
x
Though there be anger,
Scorn, and fear
From enemies and friends
Alike
Because doubt and unbelief
Might have to have
Their way,
The love of God is first
And follows
Like the currents inside Earth
And over,
The moving pillars
Cloud or fire
That are before
And after
x
Alongside in
The truth of companionship
But I can’t see that
You can
It’s more than senses
With which we perceive
As best we can
x
Presence and love are better
They are inside
And out
They speak without words
Until it’s time for words
x
When we have ears to hear
And cannot hear,
Count on the company
Of the divine
To know us better,
Pick us up
If fallen,
Go with us onward
Leading, should we ask
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
x
“Amazing Grace” (the hymn) referenced above
x
(x = space)
x
x
When Great Pain
x
If God exists
And God does exist
And if God loves
And God does love
And if God has power
And God has the most
Then how
Then why
I don’t know,
Why are things so messed up
So screwed up
So damnably awful?
We could ask this and these
On calmer days as well
It’s fair
x
All things of substance are good
Really
You move toward evil and the devil
Then you move toward nothingness
And nothing
These will increase, day by day,
Until that’s all
(so much worse than Porky Pig)
There is nothing
Not black
(black is good)
But a void
Out of which God has created
But not us
Nothing we have will last
Except as legacy
Then memory
Then
(let a couple of beats go by)
x
We are on the side of flesh
Who value flesh
(I am ignorant about
mortification)
And what’s inside
Flesh is not bad
It is ours and was made for us
By the true owner
Of the universe
Who keeps with perfection
From the smallest moment that we know
And smaller
To the next
x
And what of pain?
Why is there pain?
How can there be a God of pain?
Well, there is
Who is the God of love
Who promises alleviation
And for you
Family
And friends and neighbors, too
For a broken
And a splitting-further world
x
Pain is a stake
(and stake)
It is on the table of the world
It is not ours
Though we can wield it
The way we can
Wield healing and solutions,
Too
These are realities and means
And we have so much to do with them
For now
We can move with
Pretty much anything we want
Inside
Outside
Toward ourselves
Toward our neighbors
Toward the world
x
Persist
Sometimes is all there is
When pain is great
The next moment
And the next
One moment
Two moments
Enough accomplishment
Until everything’s incorporated
And we stand up
And move
Not move on as in forget
Move on as in everything’s a part
Of us now
x
And I know
It’s hard
To say we’re not alone
When we are alone
Without the peace of it
But we’re not
A lesson for the speaker, too
We’re not
There is companionship
And company
For life
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Conor Sexton on Unsplash
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, United States
x
clcouch123 
Recent Comments