how far
(away)

I love you
I heard on jazz radio
several minutes ago
and
not knowing better
I said
I love you
to the air
while I was driving

I know to whom
I said it
and then wondered how much
and then frankly how much
received
as I drove by churches
Sunday morning
which
I was sure
however wrongly
would not accept me

so how far love
how far until we stretch it thin to break
even
though we say infinity

some would say only so far
as duty is not broken
then
watch out

some would say the width and length
of
a cross

which as a metaphor
and truth
might not be fixed

what are the dimensions of grace
anyway
dispensed by God
and not by
us

and not
to leave the question
but
to leave the question I drove on
to
nowhere in particular

c l couch


photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash