magic

Storied Creatures

(x = space)

Storied Creatures

(story people)

Elves could come

At night

And cobble me some

Shoes;

Maybe a storied dwarf could spin

Some straw (maybe

the recyclables)

Into gold–

And since I know the name,

We’d keep

A healthy distance

The kraken could rage at

All the red tide

In the bay;

A dragon could riddle me

For treasure

(I could offer books

in which these

serpents with wings and other vanities

appear to

good effect)

A dryad could point out

Poison ivy

While I walk, while

A sibling naiad

Translate calls from frogs at ponds

For me, because

I’d rather be an ally than

A foe

I’d like to know the spirits

From the stories

Even though there’s eldritch strength

With talent, which I

Could never touch

Or could be

Burned by

Since these creatures are magic

And their skills,

While we are mortal and

With what we do

But, oh, the draw of living out

Some lifetimes

As these supernal creatures

Are supposed to live

(and if so,

then they must live

even if in tragedy of feeling

or of fate)

But let’s say in the meantime

We tell all the stories

Though

Their foundation be–

Maybe the key to knowing them be–

Separation

C L Couch

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

October 8, 2020 2

Giving Way

Giving Away

A Christian

Wrote a magic book

Don’t ostracize him for it—

Too late, too many

Praise the work

And the worker

And, yes, in the larger family

You might know who I mean

You might know what I mean

It’s everywhere, nowadays

Though the worker

Was confused by

Popularity

He was used to saying

What he wondered anyone might

Want to hear

Though it was all required at the school

C L Couch

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Unsplash

March 20, 2020 0

Dear Santa Claus,

Dear Santa Claus,

(not a child’s letter)

I believe in you

All the yous

We’ve owned some magic

From the original story

Though I try to keep

The faith from that one,

Too

We wish, don’t we?

We wish like another saint

That all be well

She has more faith than I,

Claiming that

“All shall be well”

But I have hope

I don’t have much to ask

This year except for

Reading glasses, extra-large socks

(they feel better)

Maybe, maybe a new winter

Coat—in these parts, it does get cold

Wait, how boring is my list?

Each day bears its own need for wishes

I can take part in these

If my list should go beyond

Then

I can ask for love, romantic and

Erotic (yes, at my age)

Though really

The kind that keeps

Not only on a shelf (in case I should

apologize for all the elves)

But on both sides

Of the doors

Of the human hearts

Involved

So I’ll close, dear Santa Claus

Thanking you for Sandy Paws

And all the softer

And the harder things that

I must keep for Christmas

Trying for year-‘round

With love

And respect,

Robin

C L Couch

A Note on Names

Robin

Is a nickname

For Christopher,

Hood, or Goodfellow

I’d choose Topper second

But neither name of these names counts

The rules say nicknames

Can’t be self-selected

(though Lewis somehow decided on

“Jack” and got to keep it),

Rather gained, for better or worse,

At home or on the playground

By good fellows

(male and female)

Or maybe, maybe in a hundred-acre wood

When we were

Very young

Image by TanteTati from Pixabay

(image above) Vincent Guth on Unsplash

Mývatn, Iceland

Iceland lake, Northern Lights

December 8, 2019 10

Page One

Page One

Fluff

Good for pillows

Not so good for writing

Aspiring toward substance

Sometimes it’s fluffy

The time, a portion

An interaction

Did I ever have a cat named

Fluffy? I don’t think so

Fluff is not the magic dragon

And now I think on it,

Is there any other kind?

Fly, dragon

Take me with you, please

(be courteous to dragons)

Into your magic

C L Couch

MyName (AllenS) – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4021075

Story Book Wall at Alamogordo (New Mexico) Public Library, outside the Children’s Library. Dedicated May 1963. Local schoolchildren drew illustrations for their favorite story books and these were transferred to ceramic tiles and baked on.

April 30, 2019 0

Look at It Another Way

Look at It Another Way

I’m thinking of a cave

Yes, there could be crystal there

And, yes, I suppose there could be

A wizard there

How about two wizards

She can wield the power from

The spells he formulates

Realizing brand-new combinations of

The elements that otherwise

Might have kept on sleeping

In the deeps of earth and time

A retelling

A fantasy

But as with everything in all dimensions

It could happen

C L Couch

Crystal Ice Cave

California (USA)

Jesse Barden (photographer)

https://www.nps.gov/labe/planyourvisit/crystalicecavetours.htm

February 21, 2019 0

Ascendant

Ascendant

(believe it or not, for J K Rowling)

Suddenly the steam from

The coffee rises in an eldritch way

Because the cup is now a cauldron and

The liquid is the matter of a

Spell,

Not the dangerous kind

The easy, adolescent kind that only

Causes sit-com harm,

The kind that must be resolved in

A half-hour

And hadn’t hurt that much, to begin with

But rain is coming on

Humidity is high

There is wind high in the trees

The branches dance to universal motion

And I wonder who

Casts such a summer day

As this

C L Couch

http://novedadesdetabasco.com.mx/2017/04/08/se-preven-tormentas-fuertes-en-zonas-de-puebla-oaxaca-veracruz-tabasco-chiapas-campeche-y-quintana-roo/

June 28, 2018 4

Marahuyo Palace

Marahuyo Palace

Marahuyo Palace

Where dreams are

And where dreams are

Bound and

Bound to

Bound to be

Freed

Be,

Dreams

Be free,

Dreams

Marahuyo means

(To be) enchanted

And marahuyo

Means

Are magic

Word-High July: Welcome!

Maria of Doodles and Scribbles and I [that’s Rosema at rosemawrites] are more than excited to read your takes on the 30 Beautiful Filipino Words.

Write or create a post inspired or about the Filipino word prompts.
A post can be anything. A poem, a fiction, a six-word tale, or even a photo. It’s all up to you.
Linkback/create a pingback to this post: Word-High July 30 Beautiful Filipino Words. Here is a quick tutorial on how to do a pingback.
Tag your post with WordHighJuly, so your co-bloggers will be able to read/see your take on the prompt. Here’s how you create tags.
Most important of all, read and comment to your blogger friends (old and new found, we’ll never know).

HOP ON and let’s all GET WORD-HIGH this JULY!

July 16, 2016 8