lush life
everything is green
too green
we’ll be rescinding
the extreme
as
colors change
finally
to black and white of winter
but for now
driving by
walking by with
care
and certainly to guide the harvesting
it’s all wonder
green
and
if
too green
to love full
by what
we shall forget
c l couch
photo by henry perks on Unsplash
[by the photographer] Corn growing in the field. I was attracted by the shape of the fresh leaf growth and the silhouette against the sky.
Peace for All Time
(a three-part cycle)
1
Machine Language
Each moment’s a decision
To exhale,
To circulate some blood
To let the body stir for a while longer
To let the synapse burn
Brightly with mind-fire,
Transactions between what’s happening
And memory
Much of this is done for us
But there’s a partnership, I think
Between all parts
The automatic will take over for
The temporary
When immediacy of thought and movement
Are tired out
Call it sleep
Call it the second cup of tea
Taken on the porch
When for a time there’s nothing else to do
And this has been invoked
Because needed,
The ending of which we’ll debate
Peace an invention,
A transaction
Between all partners
Serving on the inside
2
Contrition
I won’t take it back
Not yet
I need to know the outcome,
Did I get anything I wanted
If penance is a prayer,
I’ll do my part
If it’s in bad feeling,
I’m already there
And counting
A return to normalcy
And what is that
It takes me out of this
Otherwise, I want
The special moments back
But it’s the future, now
Plu-imperfect
Please
Say them with me, maybe
All the prayers,
Then let’s move on
3
The Answer Is in Someone Else as Well
Inner peace
That’s cool
It’s not enough
If I’m in my chrysalis
And have no sight of yours
Or time
Where is my peace
If not in you?
This is cheating an invocation,
For it’s not a talk to God
But to you
The one nearby
And not inside
We need transaction, too
And more
You need to carry me
And I a part of you
A magic story in which twins
Keep a gem lit by the light force
Of the other
And there’s responsibility
In our story,
We will partner differently
That is, for real
Not to prevaricate conditions
But to say push on
Make peace because
We know each other now
To arbitrate
And there’s no other way
To build the day
That each must have
Into a present contract
As the future
C L Couch
Photo by Jarrod Reed on Unsplash
a wintry morning
early in parts for winter
here and say morning
souls are trapped on Earth
not wanting release because
we like the cages
I’ll have Dylan rage
I will fight it ‘til I know
only relent’s left
C L Couch
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
Half Moon Bay Golf Club, Yorkeys Knob, Australia
A Crimson Finch has found a nice perch and does not want to share it!
A Cycle of Faith
Seasons move
And then return
Though nothing stays the same
There is a year and then another, and
Each moment, each molecule is new
There is a cycle
But like the one on wheels
It covers new ground when it must
Or when we like
There is a degree of choice
Stay where we belong
That’s good in town
Strike out anew when we are away
And a wide, open road unreels
Beneath us
We believe
What we believe
Does it cycle like the year?
We have it, then we let it go
Like distractions of the seasons
We may like a
Philosophy at home
But then the alarm goes off
There’s smoke
And we run away
Smart move
What scared us away
Fear of fire, as it should frighten us
But when fire is a thought
Maybe we decide
When I was in school, I read philosophy
I read more now
Not to prevaricate, it isn’t all
The mind
The rest of us makes choices, too
Have you never felt it?
Pheromones, some might say
Or other such attraction
Call it a cause, even
Somewhere the heart must stir
It doesn’t have to be
Against the rest of us
There’s ritual:
That can get us far
It will not fill up all the years
It shouldn’t have to
All our lives can’t be spent in the temple
Unless that’s our job
And even so
Life outside is necessary
Air outside is different
When it moves
So there are factors
And ingredients
With the passing of time
Ineluctable
We choose
And we have faith
Or not
Don’t deny the power that’s in
Miracles or tragedy
Trauma of the ages
In our spirit
Tragedy through time
We think we’re the only one
And we are
Now we’re not
Here comes the sun
The rain on all of us
It’s all right
Do you marvel now
We can be moved?
It comes and goes
We need the respites in between
But does it grow
Like arches should we walk upon
An aqueduct in the other way
Toward the source of water
The spire grows, if on a side
The arches take us somewhere
Toward the origin
The start of creation, we might say
But the aqueduct’s not made for us
Ours goes the other way
The spire toward the future grows
And so the cycle breaks
Its rim cannot hold
We are better than our borders
And, like Aslan, should be
On the move
C L Couch
Luis Rogelio HM – Merida – 045, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72766771
clcouch123 
Recent Comments