George Washington

b-day GW

today is G’s birthday
and what must he think

he might not mind so much
except he saw the war
led it
watched the soldiers die

watched them freeze
at Valley Forge
and then
perhaps with barely thawed enthusiasm
row
then march on Trenton
for the win

and he knew
enough
to resist majesty
mot likely would not care
for
Apotheosis
though he likely would appreciate
the talent
in the
art
and maybe dallying with God
being
Episcopalian

except one Sunday in Carlisle
when it seemed meet
to go
Presbyterian

but letting God be God
should a monarch be appropriate
but
no one
as one
under God
on Earth
and in deciding earthly matters
leave all people
to decide

except for the flawed
frankly awful quantities
to make
of women and
of slaves

since to have a nation we must
all
be or become democratized

happy day
George
and maybe happy nation
you secured
and must make up
and grow
negotiate a peace inside
and
then model
as the French have tried and then
(as
well)

to be this kind of
presence
in the world

c l couch

photo by Laura Nyhuis on Unsplash
Mount Rushmore, Mount Rushmore UT, SD, USA
(never finished as a monument)

a day too that’s good for thinking about tart, red, sweet cherry pie
(sorry, had to say this)


What He Knew and Did Not Know

It was the
Rappahannock
I was told

He must have thrown
His dollar
Across that
For it
To reach the other side

The Potomac
Is too wide

And I wonder
Was there someone
To retrieve it
Or find it
On one’s own
To pocket it
And so have a small fortune
To spend
In the markets
Of Fredericksburg

And he
Must have been long-suffering
For all that happened
After

And eloquent
For situations in which
Most
Would not have been articulate
Except in a metaphor
A message
Object lesson
In leaving

Or perhaps
Remaining in a tent
At Valley Forge
Achilles-like at
Troy
Never
To appear
But dream instead
Of spring
Or even winter
In Virginia
In a home
Beside the fire

And yet
He prayed
We understand
And showed himself
And
Showed himself
A leader
Through it all

And after
When he must have
Shook his head
When offered coronation
Of all things

At least
He wasn’t there
For apotheosis
Above the Capitol building

A new nation
Perhaps he understand
Must
Try to get it right
And overdo it
Underdo it
In the process

The nation
Is a process
He must have understood
And had great messages
And then retiring
The
Not-once
And not a future king

But servant
To the land
And finally a farm
Martha
Tragically some slaves
The awful legacy
He terribly
Misunderstood
And misapplied the
Morals of a better code
Than he
Possessed
Inside himself

Maybe he knew
He’d be a bad king
Relying
On the flesh of others
Ridiculously
Criminally
Owned

And otherwise
And maybe we say
Otherwise
He did all right
And then stepped back
While others
Might
March
Forward

C L Couch

(on the birthday of G Washington)


Photo by Alex Korolkoff on Unsplash