elements

(x = space)

the devil

(you say)

the tempter

the corrupter

the ruiner of things

resist

no thanks

go away

we’ll bring in professionals

xxxxxif we have to

diaspora

we’re spread apart

you like us this way

we don’t believe in

xxxxxtogether

should we understand

that we are three in one

because God is

(that is the pattern)

we can stand alone

xxxxxJesus

xxxxxJohn

xxxxxElijah

xxxxxMoses

xxxxxeach and all did that

goodness, we know that well

but to be together

find gentle,

overwhelming power in that

we don’t know that

not anymore

not since the last time

and the time to come

and meantime?

we are together all the time

we only need to turn

to find each other

share the tiny glory

in that

the tiny victories

that add up

or they don’t

breathe in

breathe out

let life happen

as it’s supposed to happen

our alone times

our together state

the glory of the Lord

shine through

all shapes and sizes

everything and everyone

inside creation

not the devil

that gave up all right

to enter realms instead

of nothingness

elements

matter merges

xxxxxspiritual and fleshly

xxxxxmaterial

xxxxxgrain and grapes

xxxxxtogether

xxxxxeach part

xxxxxand together

xxxxxchanged

xxxxxinto finer things

xxxxxcloser to purpose

xxxxxcloser to creation

xxxxxand creation

xxxxxand what is finer than

xxxxxa smidgeon more intentional?

xxxxxall the wonder

xxxxxsimple and refined

xxxxxis here

xxxxxmade from the start

xxxxxmade full

xxxxxby God

xxxxxJesus

xxxxxand the Spirit

xxxxxwho are here

xxxxxwhose substance

xxxxxwhose presence

xxxxxis in here

xxxxxand is in you

notes

I’m sorry, while drafting I couldn’t think of women in the Bible who stood or prayed or fled to be alone; now I think that Mary could have been by herself when encountered by the angel and in her response to the announcement and the will of God; Judith might have prayed on her own, away, as well; and Esther might have planned the salvation of Israel in the same way

Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash

Breaking Good

(BrGd, Periodically speaking—it’s kind of a pun, sorry)

Sometimes I can’t conform

Maybe that’s often

You see, I had not been in the

Hospital much throughout

My life,

Not really since birth, in fact, except

To visit

I didn’t mind hospitals, didn’t feel

Drawn toward them, either

I had a chaplain friend at

Children’s in Cincinnati whose ministry was

A series of small miracles

I say small because he worked with

Children

Whom he could find through all the

Tubes

And meters and restrictions

Of the I.C.U.

To find the child every time

I wished he lived in Harrisburg

Or I lived again in the Queen

City

Anyway, the siege began when I

Was forty-five or so

The combatants are, frankly, dying

And me

Much of the battlefield has been

Inside Holy Spirit then at Harrisburg

It goes on

Now I have strong feelings about

Hospitals, and the

Feelings are not good

In this, I touch a universal feeling,

If too severely,

That of going there

So that I might get out

The people there are good

Nearly everyone I’ve met is kind

If not, the unkind ones came by

While the anesthesia was

Having its way

I’ve been to rehab, too

Stayed at my sister’s house for care

(my nephew visiting my

sick room every day, because

he didn’t have to)

So buildings are not bad, not for

Recovery, though

I’ll never lose the knack

For outside air

So this is about conformity

Many rules in institutions, as

You know

(now so do I

in a living and not yet dying way)

I can take the strictures for a

While

Then must bust out before I

Burst inside

Trite way to put it, since

It’s part of what, what is it called,

Psychopathy? pathology?—either sounds

Important

I must break out from time to time

Join the rest of us outside

Take a walk or

A short drive to nowhere in

Particular

Sort of a habit, anyway

Now a tontine between nature and

Here I am

There’s the world:

It seems I need its vastness

More than ever now

C L Couch

List of Elements in Chinese

Sciencenotes.org

periodic table of the elements in Chinese

(from the web page)

Have you ever wondered if the names of elements are the same in other languages? Different languages have different words for the same thing, why should the elements be any different?

(from me)

There are usable, printable (free) renderings of the Periodic Table of the Elements out there. I use the Chinese version here with the understanding (and the message) that science is, or should be, ecumenical.