the USA penny
(for Lincoln’s birthday on the twelfth of February)
it is our first coin
it is ubiquitous
it is
of course
an honor
that goes both ways
in that
we might be honored to
carry him
say
in a purse or
in a pocket near the hip
or thigh
and should we
change
well
our change
when we’ve decided that we
don’t have to say
ninety-nine to avoid
calling
the next dollar up
maybe
the penny will go out
to the darkness
on the pages
inside
of
numismatists
we’ll carve his imagine onto
a greater coin or
print him
on a bill of altitudinous
value
or find
some way
still everywhere to have him
near
remembering
by what credit he may
own
(and
does)
the nation that
should be
ours
all
of ours
all
and so maybe toward
a virtuous
such an integral
legacy
as well
c l couch
photo by Acton Crawford on Unsplash
penny floor tiling at the Maven Hotel
Denver, Colorado (USA)
yesterday I posted a poem for Presidents Day (USA), which for some reason I thought was yesterday and not a week from then; well, if you’re looking for something for the day, now you’ll be ready—and sorry
12 February 2024
today is
Lincoln’s birthday
as I recall
most years
uncongealed
from the
single
Presidents Day
and
yes
ten days from now
is Washington’s
Lincoln was
from Kentucky
as was I
though much taller
when he grew
much taller
about everything
adding that hat
for greater
height
he split rails
the kind for fences
I believe
maybe to be ready for
a fenced-in nation
he took us
through the worst
making mistakes
I’m sure
and losing children
maybe
tens of thousands
of these
whose names
might as well have been
Edward
William
Thomas who went by
Tad
the ones who died then
and the others
later on
as
a tragic legacy
and in two days we’ll celebrate
romantic love
which has me recall
the story of
how Lincoln first encountered
Mary Todd
saying he’d like to dance
with her
in the worst way
and then
proceeding to prove that
and she endured
poorly
as the war happened
and then
once it was over
she lost her family
viscerally
terribly
one child remained
as company
for her
remaining days
the President would turn
215 today
which means
he wouldn’t
but in remembrance
where his years
as in heritage
are eternal
he made mistakes
I’m sure
but he was whom
we needed
for splitting fences
in and of
themselves
the biggest
worst metaphors
barriers
having been made
by slavery
with other interests
from the states
that having been decided
in a sibling war
could turn out be
the U.S.A.
a single entity
imperfect
but so far indivisible
again
c l couch
photo by Ron Graham on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Genesism
x
We were thrown out:
Don’t blame Eve,
I don’t;
The serpent could have
Just as easily
Caught Adam first
And both fall
After choosing to take bites
x
And if you believe
The woman had such power,
Go ahead—I
Wouldn’t stop you
x
Did they see the angel,
Looking back?
The orange or the yellow
Of a blade on fire?
Feel the heat?
Did they know for sure
They must go another way,
Not to return
For ages?
x
Well, they were given
Clothing,
They were given curses
Also callings,
They knew what they’d have to do
To live;
And so with their descendants,
So with us,
The myth goes on
For hunters and for music;
We build a tower
To do better than the curses
x
The tower falls;
We cannot speak to each other,
Anymore
x
So we build in separation;
Cities rise
And as must follow
Empire:
Strong people rule somehow
And we let their children rule
x
Was it worship
Or respect
Or indifference?
We had our farms to tend;
Soon there would be machines
x
We raised walls
To keep ourselves upon the plains,
Set outposts in the mountains,
Surrounded waterways,
x
And with food
And bright blades
Secured the promises
Of generations
x
Nation went to war
Against nations;
Many gods were worshipped,
Some directed
x
We have stone
And paper manuscripts
And ruins upon ruins
That are testimonies
x
And are we rising?
We hope so;
There are awful, lateral movements
And descensions—call
Them massacres,
Call slavery,
Call rule by one
With only one served,
One living well
x
Democracy is rising;
Call it something else;
We keep at it
x
How about
Soon we grow
Without anything but growth?
x
After-Eden flaws remain;
Maybe we’ll understand at last
Divinities approving
Of mortality,
Mortal accountancy
In meeting needs,
Accountability,
Repentance,
And renewal
x
Rockets go toward the moon,
Soon with people
Who will stay awhile
While we aim for Mars,
Send rockets to the rest;
We hope the Voyagers
Will find friends
x
We’re not perfect,
We’re not even better
x
If we keep our flaws,
And we own mortality
Then we’ll do all right
For legacy:
The joy in now
x
C L Couch
x
x
Water, Light, and Long Shutter Speeds
Photo by Ahmad Dirini on Unsplash
x
Gutted
Walking through the house
Was strange: your
House that burned, now
Skeletal and
Perpendicular
Beams and cross-beams,
Bannister askew—rooms
Awash
In neutral shades of earth
And ash,
An appliance here or there;
For all the blackened parts
And where textures are
Impressed with soot and
Shadowed particles,
The house we see
Could be
Rising from the ground
As new:
Save for a generation’s
Life, now endowed only
By memory as legacy,
Which I think you saw
Upon the bones of
Your remembered home,
As we all walked through
Ask Any Soldier
“When your friend
Gets killed, part of you
Gets killed”
A testimony and
Remembrance for
USA Memorial Day
Which I can only
Guess is right since
I have friends gone
In other ways, and
They and those parts
Of me yet feel lost
To lose through war
When targets seem
A random strategy:
Colors, shapes, tribes
On a map or guessed
At over a hill
Loss of life or partial
Life must feel
The height of
Unselected cruelty
On a pillar of
Senselessness
If a citizen salute
Might count, then
Listen to one
Expressing in
Tribute to
Patriot sacrifice
And personal
Complexity in
Service
Thanks is not enough,
So memory is offered
And legacy of
Better nations
C L Couch
(quotation from the AHC channel)
clcouch123 
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