Time Kept by the Ox and Lamb
Mary nodded
Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
A wonderful
Metered
And who knows
Maybe jazzy moment
As
We’re talking
Myth
And magic
More imagination
Overall
The ox and lamb
They kept
Time
While the drum was played
By a boy
Not a grown-up
For this first
Time
Not by a symphony
If there were a chorus
One of angels
It might have gone
Pianissimo
Then
Mary nodded
She could have tapped her toes
Or snapped her fingers
Though she was
After birth
And if she had been tired
She might have been tired
Then
And it might have been enough
To nod
As well as Joseph
After the efforts with all things
Arranging
Only nodding
Too
And then at midnight
All the animals
Join in
With voices we could hear
As being ours
Which is the legend
So that there’s magic upon magic
Contemporary
Ancient
Added to the textual lore
For fun
Perhaps
And without doubt
For meaning
And so let all created things exist
Parents
Children
Animals
Imagination and
Stories to tell
To sing
Maybe like animals at midnight
In a tappy
Or a jazzy way
Even a little wild
Like the passing of the Spirit
Through
And for
All things
C L Couch
The song “Little Drummer Boy,” first known as “Carol of the Drum,” was written by Katharine Kennicott Davis, appearing in 1941.
Photo by Carlos Coronado on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
The Killings in Thailand
x
They were brought
Juice and popcorn,
Dolls
Everything they’d need,
The children at the daycare center
x
But this was funereal
The children had
Died
Killed by a madman who killed
Others, too
Killed his family
Lastly, himself
x
The families brought juice and popcorn,
Dolls
Snacks and toys
To the daycare center
For the children to enjoy their day
x
Everyone had been to the temples
Then they came here
x
Come back home
Come back with us
x
The parents
Parents and the living family members
Said
Pleaded
Cried
While exuding dignity,
Respect
For everyone
x
Come back home
Come back with us
x
They were there
At the daycare
Leaving presents, organic things
Symbolic things
The children would have used
At their age
For their lives
In the daycare
x
Everyone had been to the temples
More to follow there
Now they are here
x
Come back home
Come back with us
x
They can’t;
Insanity
And criminality
Has taken them
x
Spirits
Journey
Hard
But shall be
Reunited
Wrongful death
Owns no victory
The children
Other victims
Know this now
They shouldn’t have to
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Charlotte Seo on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Toward the Ending of a Great War
(for 6 June 1944)
x
Today, many soldiers died
On all sides
x
Many civilians as well
In their towns
And on their fields,
Whole families
And many animals
x
For children
And for parents
We can’t imagine worse
Except for plague and
Drought, which are
Other kinds
Of war
x
The despot didn’t die
And would lead its people
Through
Ongoing and great suffering
x
Awful suffering,
Horrible—blooded,
Vivisected,
Tactical annihilation
By its hand
x
Today, many soldiers died
And civilians;
Many soldiers and civilians live
Then and now
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Shalev Cohen on Unsplash
x
Dream a Little Dream
Our DACA children
Not their fault
They are busy being children
That is their job
It’s our fault
It’s the fault of Congress
The fault of ICE for
Their current directive
It’s the fault of parents, even though
They are being parents, doing
What parents do
Bear children
And rear them
Why can’t the children stay
And what must split the family
Small, complete citizens have
Entitlement
The same as you or I
Immigrants all
Except for maybe woolly mammoths
What is there
To catch someone at—parents
For having children
Here
Was that a stratagem, maybe
For some
Is that enough for cynicism
A rationale for trading
On children
They are the future, yes
More importantly, they are the
Present
They are today
And we are judged
Judging them
Dreamers allow children America
C L Couch
http://www.bread.org/blog/prayer-dreamers
God of all,
We struggle to welcome those we don’t know to join our communities.
Please guide our actions so we may be a reflection of your love.
We struggle to find common ground with those who are from different places and have different customs.
Please guide our words so we speak with charity and hospitality.
We struggle to remember our own times of transition and uncertainty.
Please send your Holy Spirit to challenge our assumptions.
May we continue to seek new ways to find you in our lives.
May we Share the Journey with one another, every day. We ask all this in your holy name, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
clcouch123 
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