while day might be over soon
the sun is setting
on the winter day
and I
have yet
anything to have said
to you
be well
I could say
(and hardly be original)
and is possible
insofar as you are able
be better
not
to win
or for a prize
excepts its own
ask for help
if you need it
and I daresay ask where and
when
you might get
it
negotiating perhaps
to give
as well to receive
(and
yes
I know the one
is better than the other
but they both exist and sometimes
should interplay
better
and keep better and maybe
for others you know
who
need the better
you
can provide
be well
then
be better
aim for good seasons
all around as
may
be done
night is arriving here
have a good night
day or night
where
you might be
friend
c l couch
photo by Aurélien Lemasson-Théobald on Unsplash
[actually, I’ve written you a lot; this is the last thing]
To a New Friend
You asked me
how I am,
and I didn’t tell you.
I didn’t know
how to be succinct
or how much you’d like to know,
though I have no reason to
doubt your sincerity
in asking
except I haven’t been that well:
I’ve been tired and rather ill.
And the doctors mention,
if only to mention,
the timeline for a transplant
and that I’m not getting any younger,
as we say.
And I’m concerned:
I worry
while living through the day,
awake at night,
half-awake the next day.
Maybe you have insight;
or maybe I would simply like—who
am I kidding—cherish
your responses that so far have been
both sympathetic
and intelligent
as an impressive combination,
though there won’t be anything unless
I say something.
C L Couch
Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash
(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
Panic of 1819
(and probably in ancient Rome and every Friday since)
x
I don’t have it yet
It’s Friday
I don’t have it
x
In a suburban way,
I want
To have earned the weekend
x
Bad night last night
Today’s not much better
Except I’m awake
If duly
And can
More practically
Resort
To caffeine, should I wish
x
But there is
Something better
I am sure
Something to find my spirit
In the rut
If not a hole
And pull me through
x
It’s feelings
It’s truncated thoughts
And more
A weight of sin
Perhaps
Though don’t we bear that
Every day?
x
Well,
Design
And draft away
And with a shape
Construct
A frame
Add more materials
For texture
And color as that matters much
On Earth
x
And get it done
For presentation
Monday
By five
Or six
Or seven
Then find our friends
Beside what we call
Colloquially
The watering hole
That other creatures need
The literal
More direly
x
But let’s go in
And break
Exhale
Find solace
Even in this world
In trust
x
Or
You know
We could go home
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Daniel Gregoire on Unsplash
x
curated in “Friday clouds”; looking like mountains—Friday mountains?—with the moon an evening invitation
x
(x = space)
x
x
for fun—no penguins were brought back or harmed in these productions, though penguin company was enjoyed “chez lui”
x
x
To My Friends Back from Antarctica
x
It’s
World Penguin Day
(25 April)
You may let the penguin out
Whom you’ve been keeping:
x
With all the
Mechanicals
Around,
Who’s to know?
x
If you remove the lid from
Your freezer,
Then to the room
The machine
Is in
Close the door,
x
Will you have
A habitat?
x
Remember to keep throwing
Fish
Inside
From time to time
x
All the time,
The bird reminds me
(all the time)
x
C L Couch
x
x
x
(x = space)
x
x
Passion Thursday
(Maundy Thursday)
x
1
I am poor
I would love to be invited
To supper with Jesus
Because I’m hungry
And sometimes I am afraid
For food
I’m sorry
I want to hear the story
But all I can hear
Is on the inside, now
Maybe afterward
Or during
It’s rotten evangelism,
I guess,
On my part
Wanting the real food, first
Yes, there is a question
Of what’s real,
I’m certain
But feed with food, please,
First
Then I shall listen
To anything
Especially the truth
Sorry for the truth in
A yowling stomach,
In an actual meal
x
2
Who knows where they were
Or how many
What they ate,
If it was a meal of tradition
Or what was at hand
The way a meal is sometimes,
Checking our cupboards
And the refrigerator
Looking at the oven
Being hopeful
(hopeful people
hopeful oven)
x
Was Mary there?
Were any of the Marys there?
Not to serve but to take part
In equal parts
With the rest?
x
And why did Jesus call it new?
A new commandment
That was ancient,
Love one another
Exodus and Deuteronomy
Along with whose house
Shall we serve
And how
x
What might be new
To me
Was to call them friends
Upgrade from disciples
Friends
A loving term
x
Maybe the love of God
Between people and God
Was renewed
There was a person saying
You can know this God this way
You don’t have to wait
For the appointed time
The proper time
Is now
Kairos
Along with chronos
Love God anytime
As if at table with you
All of you
Any of you
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Hennie Stander on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Easy Errantry
x
God grant
Peace for friends
And good days
Well-deserved
Because they are
x
No pre-requirements
Beyond existing
Now
On Earth
Today, hopefully
Into tomorrow
All right, so an anti-disposition
Toward causing pain
In others
Wouldn’t hurt
x
But beyond that
Simply be today
And have good days
Without because
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Alberto Zanetti on Unsplash
when I first saw the image, I thought it was upside-down; on second glance, I thought it was a painting
x
(x = space)
x
x
Missioning
(for Mandy Shunnarah)
x
It’s Wednesday
And a hump day
Too many cases breaking out
Al-Qaeda talking up Afghanistan
Fires in California
New Apple phones
Unveiled there
I need shoes
More importantly a place to live
Local friends are helping
And good thoughts
Come from everywhere
Faroff family stands by
I’m eaten up with nerves
They eat me
Consume the calm
Like the noise above
That means I’m leaving
After many years
Too many jobs
That took up all
My energy allotment
Concentration
And my attempts to rest
And now
Semi-retired
Accosted with all that
x
My heart needs fixing up
x
This should not
Be all for me
Too many people
Have revocable need
I pray
Others help
With worldly substance
So much more than I have
But this should not be for me
In what I cannot do
It’s to put out fires
Help first-responders
Let go those
Who have no perspective
Build up health
Yes
It’s true
And I must ask
For all of us
x
C L Couch
x
x
Mandy Shunnarah has been writing about skateboarding and skateboarding—forthcoming book, Midwest Shreds: Skaters and Skateparks of Middle America from Belt Publishing (fall 2022). Hers is a positive, inclusive, encouraging voice.
https://www.offthebeatenshelf.com/blog
x
Skateboard on Dry Lakebed
Photo by Kelsey Dody on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
You Know
x
I don’t know
I should have something
More to say
How are you?
What’s up with you?
What have you read
Or heard,
Seen or
Smelled, Tasted
Or touched?
How is the world for you
These days?
I hope you’re well
And having a good day
You deserve it
And to be told so
Many times
x
C L Couch
x
x
Friends
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
x
clcouch123 
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