A People of All Seasons
(to the accomplishment and memory of President Jimmy Carter)

Sacrifice
And service
Duty
As love
All of these
Impulses
And choices
Be love

As in
Love of country
Love of each other
Preference
For peace
And everyone be fed
And living safely
In
Unconscious readiness
For something from an outer circle
To round in
Provide the next challenge
For
A species

Shall we care and
Shall
We lift each one
Diversely
And also through
One principle

And let that principle
Of course
Be that
Of love and growth

And so earn
That readiness
Even while
Simply
Learning delight
In the energy
Of ourselves
Sponsored
And
Grown of ourselves

While
Naturally enough
God might
Approve
Then leave us as in let
Us
To what’s next

C L Couch


Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash