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Gospel According to the Birds

(x = space)

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Gospel According to the Birds

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Books are wonderful

Black tracks across the page

Birds to say

There’s something here

Someone inked our talons

And we have walked on lines

Somehow

And there’s a message

Someone overheard a gospel

Before we were

Put back on our branches

Ancient pens

And when we’re gone

Our larger feathers go to humans

Who are

Surprised by grace

To leave a message

Whispers of angels

Like the ones who took their wings

To guide us

In our flights across the page

x

They take the credit

Though we guess it is their story

More than ours

We need to messages

No gospels

We emerge into life

Knowing how to fly

How to listen to impulses

The small glories

We would never hide

Or cease in all our starts and stops

From praising the creator

You can hear us

Humans

Our song is perfect

Without lessons

Or egos

Or prevarications

x

We could say praise us

In our stories

We know better

Without knowing

We fly

We sing

We know

God loves us

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What is made by birds walking across skin that has a third opportunity?

The answer is a page whose words resemble tracks upon vellum made by animals once alive, whose skin is stretched for a second chance at life, so to say, bearing a story now to offer life for a third time, especially if the story be a gospel.

This is the kind of riddle that literate medieval people enjoyed together, literate meaning mostly monks, the kind who kept texts that had not been destroyed in the fall, thus saving what was left and what could feed into new nourishing, again to say, mostly in Europe a new civilization

The birds talking is not typical back then but my idea now.  And Aesop.  And Aristophanes.

Sorry, teacher can’t stop chirping.

Old English riddles are found in The Exeter Book, a volume discovered that had served as a coaster and something for impatience to glide a knife into (or why anyone would drive a knife into, along a book).  A not-hiding glory to be plainly found, opened, and discovered.

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Photo by Mehdi Sepehri on Unsplash

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Rhapsody in Bible

(x = space)

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Rhapsody in Bible

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God

You are good

You love us

Always

And anyway

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I’m sure it’s in there

Though I can make

Only pages with

Neat typing

Of blurred letters

As I try

x

And then the stream

The invitation

And a wall of rooms

That somehow

Turn into mansions

Promise of two verses

About paradise

About

You know

Dwelling in the house

Of the Lord

x

There are numbers on the pages

Small headlines

Aids from time

Which were not in

The original

Black pages

Into mod

(it was the sixties

into seventies

for us)

And now the church

All wood

And mullions

With a clock that I could see

When in the choir

Set in the center

So the pastor be reminded

(by the clock

committee)

Of the time

For preaching

And when

To wrap it up

x

I received my Bible there

I think

Or in the rooms

For Sunday School

Which had checked floors

Of tile

Room dividers

In the wing

That had been built

Before I got there

And a breezeway

Over the drive

x

But this is building stuff

And the pages

Pages stuff

What of the truth that’s in there

And it’s in there

I can recall without the images

Though they come

Anyway

The verses and the truth inside

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Create in me

A clean heart

O God

And renew a right spirit

Within me

x

And that’s only to begin

The faith

And transformation

Needed

That we learn about

In there

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C L Couch

x

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from Psalm 51

(followed by

Cast me not away

from thy presence

and take not thy holy spirit

from me

x

which happened to Saul

by the way

at the nadir

of his life

as king

appointed by the prophet

who got directions

from the Lord

to look for someone tall

and

well

kingly

for a tragic irony

as things turned out)

x

sorry, I got into a kind of coda

(that a kind of song, could be a psalm, might have)

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Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

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Te Deum

(x = space)

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Te Deum

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I pray to God

And Jesus

Rarely directly to

The Holy Spirit

Sorry, Spirit

Though it seems

I’m talking with you

All the time

As an indication

A reality

Of indwelling

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You are the nearest

The closest part

Of God

In fact, in me

While I know

It’s three in one

But for all I know

It might be

That you are the part of God

Who is the most patient

Part

(indwelling)

And who somehow

Loves me best

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C L Couch

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Photo by Savvas Kalimeris on Unsplash

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Drafting into a Welcome for Rosh Hashanah

(x = space)

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Drafting into a Welcome for Rosh Hashanah

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It has

Sundowned into

Tishrei

Rosh Hashanah

x

Now into

A count of five thousand

Seven hundred

Eighty-four

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The new year

Turns the calendar

Adding one

To five millennia

(a few centuries

away

from six)

Together

As a people

x

We have liturgy

Reading

Hearing

We have the word of God

Visit

And then send us on our way

x

Our way together

Responding to the invitation

Of another year

Of seasons

For dancing

Mourning

All that is required

x

There are lessons

As we need them

x

A thousand died on Maui

Ten thousand in Libya

More than

Less than

A counting for

A necessary tally

As with those who fell in battle

Tallied in the texts

Of old

x

The wars waged with nature

And too often

With each other

x

And yet how many born

How many here

Grown into this family

Of long life

Together

x

And each one matters

Fallen

Risen

Breathing

Or having given up on breath

For what is next

x

Each one matters

x

Maybe

There are other

Older

But we are

A five-thousand (going on six)

Years-old people

Plus one new day

x

Ancient and new

We are

We work

We play

We pause to rest

We go again

x

(So)

Remember who we were

Remember who we are

This year of blessing

As we have it

Inside which

We’ll part

And come together

As required

Meaning it as celebration

Too

x

Sundown into sunrise

Go our days

Here and now

For we are here

We’re now

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C L Couch

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Photo by Veronika Diegel on Unsplash

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The Actual Words of God

(x = space)

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The Actual Words of God

(don’t worry)

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God says

Stand up

God says

Up on one foot

(as you are able)

Now down

Uh-oh

You didn’t hear

God says

x

Righteous

Confusion

To say we hear the right thing

All the time

From God

Whose big voice

In the sky

Has chapters for us

As a best-selling

Enterprise

x

How do we know what God says

Well

We don’t

God might speak rather directly

To the mystics

Find a mystic

For the rest of us

We have a text

Then say hello

Then listen

And that ain’t all bad

x

We won’t have anything

To sell

But the working out

Shall take a grownup lifetime

With the pleasure

Fully realized

In prayer

Without agenda

Or to find agenda

There

Rather than first

And then

Get the holy language

To agree

x

The actual words of God

Don’t worry

We’ll say things

We’ll listen

We’ll have feelings

We’ll have instincts

Which shall be

Our life of faith

Credible

Without a claim

Or verbatim

But what should love

As we learn God

And live

Tell us

Anyway

x

While if you’re Moses

Reading this

Or Deborah

Or Julian

I think you’ll understand

For the rest of us

x

Be easy

I believe

You might say this

Too

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C L Couch

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Photo by Achim Ruhnau on Unsplash

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ring

(x = space)

x

x

ring

x

God is here

thank goodness

God is there

in Ukraine

in war

and Morocco

split earth

many lives taken

x

in the hundred-plus

degree days

in Texas

for those

trying to live there

and before the hurricane

call one Lee

while we are in ships

on land

securing

waiting

knowing there will be destruction

during

and after

re-life-building

keening

grieving

for the loss of us

anywhere

x

we still wait for freedom

God approves

and works resistance

and diplomacy

risks offense

Jesus was offensive

and still turns

the heads of certain people

x

souls

and daily lives

devotion on a string

that breaks

that someone cuts

to ruin

or to barricade

x

God persists

in presence

in numbers

yes

God has the Earth

all given satellites

and other worlds

but take it one by one

even

with respect

and certainly with truth

the kind a Pilate

may not know

or want to know

x

debate

sure

work your fallacies

and jaw agendas

or shut up

shut down

look at the world

with any

and all senses

in all seasons

x

God is there

you won’t believe

and it’s a place to start

like rain

to put out our fires

snow to cool the deserts

or fire

parametered

to thaw the frozen

x

listen

talk

give up

what must be given up

yes

me

too

x

enough grammar to share

and all civility

that’s dignified

respectful

God will take us there

as in the wilderness

the chaos

we can no longer

count

because the crazy overwhelms

sometimes

x

God is here

sorry

we can go rounds on this

or leave it go

experience it

or not

we could step over this

to save in our ways

that are constructive

building up

that is

tearing down what only

tears down

x

love and live the rest

even God might say

that is enough

for now

stepping around

certain stanzas

that divide

unusefully

not for distinction

or thick conformity

x

rather the unique

formal

free

x

C L Couch

x

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Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash

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Nicene Intention

(x = space)

x

x

Nicene Intention

(universal method)

x

God is God

And God becomes

Human

And as God and

Human

May serve as the

Mediator

Both in between

And on both sides

A sacrificing

(needn’t be done)

Remarkable

Negotiating strategy

To be in the middle

Also moving

Through each side

x

It’s real

It’s blood-won

It involves an intimate

Awareness of

Divinity and

The temporal through sin

And loving everyone

Inside everyone

Bring to bear

Reconciliation to the table

All parties

With a nod

That meant

I died for this

For you

For everyone

And everything

On sides

And at this table

One way or another

Now

x

Call it an altar

Or a cairn

A memorial

A space

That existed with all spaces

Before Sarah

Before Abraham

Before Buddha

Or Mohammed

(bless the name

and bless all names

approved)

And we have much to do

Then and now

Though now

For the mortal side

Is fair

x

Earth shall be fair

As a result of this

Mortal and divine

Working out

What is good

What is victory

What shall be the means

To believe in

And proceed from there

Toward Earth and us

In paradise

In time

Now

Then tomorrow

Breaking time

In fact

So that we have primal

And evermore

Perfection

With all wonders

Wonderful things to do

Each moment

That bears

And shall express

Forever

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C L Couch

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Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

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By Gosh

(x = space)

x

x

By Gosh

x

God

Sorry

God

You’re not sorry

In this way

I am

And I presume upon

Your

Intimateness

I seek your pardon and

Too often act

Assuming it

x

There is your mercy

For intention

And grace

For your means

And these are bestowed

Free of us

Our institutions

Our intentions

All of them

x

What we might do

Or think

And shall you always love us

Yes

You will

We are nothing new

And always new

Oldly

And newly

You forgive us

Even direct us away

And it helps

When we cooperate

x

Forgive us now

Forgive me now

Your will be done

And all or ours

Somehow

Beyond our doctrine

And the statements of our creeds

We need them

They compass-point us

We need you more

Who are

The magnetism

Earth and sky

And everything

That follows you

For being made

And not for looking

For you

For they know

You’re there

And frankly

You are here

x

We have to know

We have the will

That took us out of Eden

In the way

Of will

As we shall have it

And while the evidence

Mortally is lousy

Still

We come to believe

With everything

We are

x

Wow

A paradox of understanding

And enactment

Fortunately

There are the words

And there is revelation

In the words

And truth worth following

Unto the last

x

But wishing

Wishing

We could have more

We could meet you

And you’d take us

Hand in hand

As metaphor

More like cell to cell

For real

x

What is real

What is truth

You are both

You give us both

And more

And should we be

Grateful

x

For all we know

And must sigh into

What we don’t

And let that be all right

It is faith

After all

By definition

And by will

x

And how do you want us

But by will

Without the concrete obligations

In our love

But our love

With the best evidence we have

Or more important

Anyway

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C L Couch

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Photo by TopSphere Media on Unsplash

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Halfway Home

(x = space)

x

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Halfway Home

x

The sacrifice

Of your shed blood

He said

On our behalf

In prayer

His words the surrogates

A shadow

Of the death itself

x

Horribly

A bleeding body

Shed of its spirit

At the last

A life too pure

A sacrifice

For us

x

Yet there it was

In expiation

Half redemption

For our sins

x

The weight of everything

That hates

Crushing his body down

Pushing out his spirit

On to Hades

Or Valhalla

To Gehenna

Or to Sheol

As it’s understood

To name it

x

Half the promise

The brutal

Ugly

Barbarous part

Complete

And it is over

He said it was finished

Maybe it is

x

C L Couch

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Photo by Didssph on Unsplash

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