The Glory in the Choir
Have you ever been
In the room
To sit
Almost to rest
To hear holy music
The singers
Other instruments
Our happening
Ticketed
Or happenstance
To Be there
As
A live performance
Shall we say
Have you ever got
To listen
In the room
For I have not
I have either been
Singing with
Them
Too
Or heard it
From the TV
Radio
Or disc
Oh
Dear
What I have missed
I mean
Being inside of it
Is grand
Where there is
A mingling
Of discipline and joy
Concern
For pitch
And complementing others
Trying to watch
The director
Not for approval
But a downbeat
So there is
That limitation
If to call it
Limitation
I don’t get to be out there
Simply
Not minding my place
For where I am
And who I am
Is challenged not
To matter
There simply
Is the pulse
Of the music for
A heart
No Tin Man
Should object
For here it is
We’ll stay
Our hearts are here
Listen
The notes are vessels
Sound is circulation
What we see
Can matter
Too
Shapes in the shadows
Unselfconscious
The light is dim
Here
While the light up there
That’s where it has to be
And really
Where
The glory is
For us
We can pretend
Maybe
In dim light
Or starker shadow
What we hear
That’s for the world
Might or must
Also be
For us
C L Couch
Photo by Dieter K on Unsplash
(x = space)
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Be, My Soul
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Be still
(imperative
second-person subject
that is
you)
This
That doesn’t mean
Don’t move
As much as to quiet
Everything
x
The rush of blood
The frantic function of our organs
The ragged parts of breath
Meaning
The ragged parts of spirit
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Smooth out everything
For a time
And in that time
Hear
More than ears
What God might say
Or you and God
To each other
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C L Couch
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“Be Still, My Soul,” a hymn by Kathrina von Schlegel (1855)
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Psalm 46
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Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash
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(x = speak)
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LoveSpeak
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What does God’s love say
In the face of danger?
Through many dangers,
Toils, and snares
God’s love says
I’m here
The love is here
The source is here
The host is here
We’re here
x
Though there be anger,
Scorn, and fear
From enemies and friends
Alike
Because doubt and unbelief
Might have to have
Their way,
The love of God is first
And follows
Like the currents inside Earth
And over,
The moving pillars
Cloud or fire
That are before
And after
x
Alongside in
The truth of companionship
But I can’t see that
You can
It’s more than senses
With which we perceive
As best we can
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Presence and love are better
They are inside
And out
They speak without words
Until it’s time for words
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When we have ears to hear
And cannot hear,
Count on the company
Of the divine
To know us better,
Pick us up
If fallen,
Go with us onward
Leading, should we ask
x
C L Couch
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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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“Amazing Grace” (the hymn) referenced above
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(x = space)
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Hear the Sky
x
Today the sky is talking through
The rain,
Discussing how to wash the
Earth
Tonight the sky
Might be humming a humid tune
About solace, anyway, and rest
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The sky can sing
Through brightened colors
The rainbow, yes,
But don’t forget the message
In the blue,
Beauty that is not owned
By anyone
That doesn’t care for borders
But flies over them
Unchallenged
x
The sky is its own master
We can hear that anytime
It will speak its blessings
Or admonishments
Maybe we should listen
And respect
And offer messages of harmony
Ourselves
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Does the sky hear us?
It may have heard
It might hear again
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C L Couch
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Sunset in Vancouver
Photo by Ferdinand Stöhr on Unsplash
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