words as mystery
(not seconds but minute meaning small)
snow
the branches tell
and might
try to lift
to sing
but might have to leave it
not by breeze
but
by the birds
cardinals and blues
that might shake themselves
and
minute by the branches
vibrate anew
by warbling
a song of nature
and to
think of nature’s God
and if Pan
as in the forest of the wind
in
the willows
then Pan shall serve
as well
the setting
shaking trees
the
singing from the colors
joy
the noise of devotion and
of peace
magic
and if magic
then by
God
c l couch
photo by Melissa Burovac on Unsplash
Every Time I
(you, we)
Every time I
Feel the
Spirit
Moving in my heart
I will pray
But I like it
When it moves outside
The heart
Also
Not as proof or evidence
But as
Communion
That spirits are merging
Venning at least
For faith
And sometimes simply for
Delight
Then spirits
Move
We sing and dance
Among the trees
And you wonder from
Where those
Strange lights
Come
In the woods or
Over water
Or horizoning desert
Ridges
Where there might be
Air
Or other medium
For breath
Bursts that
Might be daunting
Maybe
Also invitation
Dance with us to
Say
We move as lights
Be moved
C L Couch
Photo by Nick de Partee on Unsplash
a wing and a prayer
(2 poems)
marathon magic movies
I wish I were a wizard
a good one
as in
good at it
I could change the things
that frustrate me
and are
only things
the things that
do not fit
the things with
parts
that do not work
so well
as they did
once
or I could make
new things
out of unused molecules
of things
that broke
and-or I gave up on
a while ago
a wizard
for convenience
though
maybe I’d have to
pick my sides
as well
though it seems
that wizards often
stood between them all
to force and even host
negotiation
then
once all was done
return
like Cincinnatus to the farm
rather to the cave
to rest
and learn some more
of magic in the world
and the world
itself
perhaps
for which
the magic serves
obviously spiritual
do I want to say
something
obviously spiritual
always
thought it always seems
to come with
something secular
as well
and that’s because
I am here
while you are there
(and here)
and your host moves
in between
what do you say
what does love say
why can’t I
serve these all
the time
doubtlessly
with only a little more
than what I have
and what I am
and this
prevaricates
this elongated pause
while at the edge of things
that wait
even indifferently
for my
participation
the world waits
in emptiness
and need
and with too much of it
held hostage by too few
behind the gates
of hell
that we are told
cannot prevail
against
our own rock
our body in the faith
that set on it
these gates
even with those
who push from the inside
cannot
shall not
stand
wow
all this from me
and those like me
have faith
and share in faith
to love actively
and maybe not much more
which is
Herculean
beyond classic labors
that shall
tell a new story
a second set
of revelations
as it were
so I believe
and sit with those
who believe
then we shall stand
and nothing bad
what has chosen to be evil
shall prevail
but at the last shall hide
and have its final
bastions
thrown apart
by faith
togetherness
and love
which sounds simplistic
to be simple
but there it is
like Jesus
or another Lord
accessible
by anyone
no secrets
or secret knowledge
simply
believe
together
and together
love
and though it’s not
the most important thing
well
to win
c l couch
photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Story Us
x
Fairytale
Castles
While the reality is
The plumbing’s bad
And certain walls
Are falling
x
A tower remains
That the wizard uses
To live inside
While keeping magic from
The rest
x
We are on our own
Who dwell in stories
To learn
To plan
To find our allies
And to stack against betrayal
x
With what wisdom
We might gain
(maybe there is
a library
with unmolded volumes
even waiting)
And gold to find
From earth
Or from
Negotiating
Fairy folk
Outside
Who know the treasures
Of the world
And keep the access
Well
x
Riddles
Reminders
Priorities
Cautions
And cares
x
A final chapter
Next to last
Comes first
In which we learn to cast
Spells from the past and
Something new
Plus teach our dragons
To light up
The fires that we want
In better places
x
A battle
Maybe skirmishes
For if smart
There won’t be melee
And the knights
Find better ways
To show off
Service
x
While heroes
Without armor
And with blades
Of wit
Shall better solve
And save
The castle
And the day
x
C L Couch
x
x
x
(x = space)
x
x
I’m Taking My Break
x
The haunting rises from
The coffee cup
When the liquid’s hot
Enough,
Aided by the air
That might be just-right cool
x
A spell upon the world
Not cast by anyone
Not by un-sentient machines
Or by any eldritch
Part
Of us
x
Like morning fog
There’s beauty in the vagueness
Indefinition
Wonder, too, as we look
Through
To the same as ever
And it’s not the same
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Ayaneshu Bhardwaj on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
There’s a Story at the End
x
I don’t know what to say.
I need the birds to
dance across the
page
with their feet dipped in ink.
It’s a medieval riddle’s
answer,
though it would be cruel
to force birds’ feet
into wells.
x
I guess we take their feathers,
turn them into quills;
maybe we could wait
to find quills
inside forests:
gifts from the sources of stories
and the desert
and the sky
and moving waters
taking the shape
of earth below.
That’s what I want to tell,
a story!
Something for everyone. And
is there such a thing?
x
Once there was a child
in a forest
Who came upon a grown-up
clearly starving.
The child gave the grown-up
the only piece of
bread
in the child’s bag.
The adult rose up and thanked
the child.
Then they noticed that
the child’s bag
had a hole through which
crumbs had fallen—and through
forest-magic
had not been eaten
by birds or other creatures!
x
They knew certainly where the
crumbs
would take them,
so they went home
where everyone was
known,
because everyone was
home.
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Missing Magic
x
Well, that was a clutter
Messages, groceries by the door
Coffeemaker, toaster
And nearly all of it
I slept through
Catching the final beep
From the phone
Signaling that
So many things had happened
In my Prufrock world
I don’t have a peach
And the part is in the middle
I’ve only heard the mermaid sing
In the Disney movie
But there is color outside
And cool air to breathe
x
And I shall go
Not
To strive or find
Yes, not
To yield
I doubt there will be a grail,
Either
Or a dragon
And if a dragon, we should
Become acquainted
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Artiom Vallat on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Practical Lack of Magic
x
I am tired
With a blanket ‘round me
Wishing for
Some writing
That would serve
The quiet, sobbing Earth
x
The moon
And Mars
That shake for prospects,
Having heard
That we are coming
With agendas
And mechanical persistence
x
The moon’s already scarred
Not that we
Shouldn’t go
But have a care
At least
For places that so far
Have gone untouched
x
Mystery
Romance of the unknown
Once resolved,
What we will see
When look up
Is practical
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Forest Katsch on Unsplash
Starship SN8 lifts off from SpaceX’s South Texas facility in Cameron County.
x
(x = space)
x
x
The Magician’s Children
(Christmas 2020)
x
It’s a magic time
The animals will talk at midnight
x
Light of many colors
Will shine inside and outside
Of hours
And tall buildings in the city
x
People who don’t believe
Will be quiet for a while
Almost in honor of the child
x
Christmas might be
A chore for them,
But they take the quiet anyway,
Until the noises of the morning
In the household begin
x
And there are those who will be quiet
Because they are the only ones,
Each one in a home of sorts
To bring in the day
On one’s own
x
Each one has a job
To send out the peace
Just beyond, until the next one
Take it,
Send it out in thought or feeling
Or a prayer
x
Others will be so busy
But the lonely could do this
x
Create a spirit-band across the world
Through many places,
Many nations,
Many destinations
That can’t be reached yet
x
Someday, perhaps
When we have enough health,
Enough determination,
Enough interest in the risk
x
Merry Christmas to each one
And from each to everyone
Live in peace for a day
And remember that a day
Can be an age
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Daniil Silantev on Unsplash
Ozero Turgoyak, Челябинская область, Россия
Ice on the Lake Turgoyak
x
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