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Standing By, Maybe Sitting

(x = space)

x

x

Standing By, Maybe Sitting

(maybe kneeling)

x

So what do we know

From presence

Though it’s present

x

Something outside ourselves

Is present

Staying close

Trying to pull us out

Into the world

x

Remind us the making of it

Was community in motion

A nation of the angels

Then of us

Starting with two

x

And the wives of Cain somewhere

x

Miracle

And mysteries

Our bodies otherwise

Would form

Boundaries that won’t give way

Except for weapons

x

But we know there is more

Through the intrusion

Of companionship

Wonderful companionship

Surprise at first

And then we might get used to it

For fondness

And for learning

Of the world

x

A world

As we say

(paraphrase)

Of all the possibilities

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by David Tomaseti on Unsplash

(a candle for companionship)

x

1

The USA President in Israel

(x = space)

x

x

The USA President in Israel

x

The President speaks in Israel,

There’s something popping with

Small flames

Outside the embassy;

He speaks mostly in support of Israel

Though he speaks to

Civil and civilian losses

On both sides,

All sides

x

Because there are sides

Having removed from each other

Because

There is a war

x

Hamas should not have done what it did

To start;

That was sinful

And stupid:

It was followed by

The deaths of many citizens

Around Hamas

(I mean geographically

and also

dis-strategically),

The destruction of homes

In Gaza,

Hospitals

And so many lives together

And the lives alone

x

The Israelis

Suffered

First,

Others underneath

Or beside

The missiles

And the bombs,

All the bullets fired;

And Israel responds with wrath

x

Hamas keeps fighting,

There is a war

x

Are there promised weapons

For Hamas?

Promised philosophy?

The codes–

The Jewish, Muslim–

Say

To love the neighbor,

Welcome the stranger,

Understand that creation

Is an act of love

x

The greatest power

Behind success of nations

As it is behind

The cosmos

And the reason

For the cosmos

x

On the devil’s table,

Looking one way or the other,

Is now a bullet-point,

A mark

For thoughts and plans

Of genocide

Believing that

We get rid

Of a people

Then all shall be well

x

And so the fighting

In this hellish hope

And demons’ cause;

They cheer infernally

x

It’s people

Not agendas

Killed:

The abstract, ersatz

Notions remain

Weaving a web

And also caught up in it,

An ouroboros

That consumes itself

To add a symbol

To the metaphor

x

We have nowhere else to go

Said Golda Meir to

Senator Biden

Some years ago,

And it is true

And also true

In fact and spirit

For many Palestinians

x

Both of us are there,

Both are home

x

How could diasporas

Be on the table, too?

x

What Hamas did

Was stupid

And sinful

Warfare on a quietish,

Tense day

Like any other there

And now there are fronts

Fighting also on mixed lines

With and beside the plans

x

People

Ununiformed

And uniformed

Suffering the most

On all sides

Of the weapons

x

There shall be an end,

Cessations maybe

Then the end

And what then shall happen?

Who shall win?

We think there shall be a winner

And with reason

But crazy to believe

Anything shall be resolved

For good

(for good)

In victory

x

The losers shall be punished

And might be promised

Through back doors

Into dark rooms

That nothing is over

When there shall be new campaigns

From promises

x

Cessation might

Overlay a mask of peace

That for relief

Might be suitable

For a while

x

I’m sorry,

I’m afraid,

We are afraid

Victimized by terror and by war

Who pray

Who petition for

Practical peace

x

Out of love that is not sweetness,

Well,

Is sweetness

But wears a skin of wounds

With scars

Still persists

Far more real than

We tend to think

Instead

Of worldly power

x

Please come to the right

Even righteous table

x

End the war

With tense

Satisfaction

Then go for peace for real

On this side of everyone’s

Parousial paradise

Ungained

Maybe blasted,

Might be apocalypsed

But not yet lost

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by ritesh singh on Unsplash

x

1

The Way to God

(x = space)

x

x

The Way to God

(or, Mystics Are Confounding)

x

God guide us

Does God guide us

Seems

We decide

To take the step

To the right

Or to the left

x

How much is up to us

Why

(and then)

Why

Just about everything

I think

We might want

To go on the path of God

To God

And there might be clues

Insight

Perhaps

Bristly sensation

‘Cause a treasure hunt

If run

And this would be

The richest one

To have

To hoard

Perhaps

(though hoarding really

is no fun)

Better to share

Especially as some of it

Is news

x

But

Come on

Too much is invisible

A code

Without an artifact

Some books that might be changing

And we argue all the time

x

So maybe we hope

For approval

On the way and afterward

Which isn’t gold

But is heaven

That in jazz of virtue

Sometimes perplexing

Ain’t all bad

x

Don’t mean a thing

If it ain’t got that

Je ne se pas

Karl someone said that

(with an “It” as in “It don’t”)

Paas (like eggs)

Haas

Or who is Schickele

A syllable

A couple of Es away

From an adverb

x

Well

Someone

Something

Help us

Please

Maybe a map

On the pages

Or inside a leaf

Inspired (for the books)

By the leaf

That falls

These days

From trees

And set some kind of standard

x

They

Often fall on paths

While one path of the paths

We seek

Who knows

Nature might show the way

Overall

x

Or at least in part

Or parts

Sigh

Where are the arrows

Where is the angel

Pointing

Not much for a duty

But then

One has been assigned

To raise a flaming sword

Outside of Eden

Since the

Lapsarian

Moment

x

So many mysteries

And what we want

Is God-directed

Without mystic

Understanding

(though Ms Underhill

teaches

we all might

have it to use)

x

Well

We find our way

We do our best

Maybe we rather

Act like blocks

Sculpted

Undivinely

Because we favor

Hammers

Of agendas

x

The rest of us

Then

Try

To find a way

To go a way

To find the treasure

Of the Lord

Which is the same

As one who’s somehow

With us

Now

x

C L Couch

x

x

Karl Haas composed and hosted a radio show about Classical music; he was famous for his deeply-intoned greeting, “Hello, everyone.”  Peter Schickele also hosted (hosts) a radio show wherein (for the closing) he told us to remember that, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that je ne se pas.”  (A comic re-rendering of the line (and title) “I don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing” by Duke Ellington.)

Evelyn Underhill was a mystic and writer who composed Practical Mysticism: A Little Book for Normal People.

And may I annotate myself?

x

Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash

Ancient Stump

x

1

my favorite holiday

(x = space)

x

x

my favorite holiday

x

my favorite holiday

ever

I heard someone say

x

Christmas trees

x

or forlorn branches

in a Hallowe’en sky

x

triumphant Easter morning

whether or not

there’s sunlight

x

Groundhog Day

for fun

inside shadows

x

I don’t know

x

say

how about today

this day

for a holiday

x

for a holiday

a holy day

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by Clay LeConey on Unsplash

x

2

Tolkien paean (2 poems)

(x = space)

x

x

Tricksy

x

Not the wife of Norton

More like the creature

In the cave

On an island

In the lake

Who paddled

Throttled fish

Or goblins

And had one precious thing

That in the contest for it

He was sure

He had been hoodwinked

Of it

x

Which is an approach

To life

For some

To foresee and draft

A plan for taking

What’s desired

Or escape

Or something else from Earth

To own

Maybe to give away

The planet as a medium

For catch-and-release

x

Or an item

To pull out

From time to time

Like a jewel from the safe

Of one’s own

Righteous things

x

Something not to adjudicate

But to employ

When the thick is thin

And we in

The thick and thin of it

And this recourse will help

With or without

Preamble

Or an ongoing commentary

To say

Look at this clever thing I’m doing

It will save our bacon

Should we have any bacon

Either way

Quandary resolved

Some measure of escape

And I picked up something helpful

On the way out

Into daylight

x

The thief’s

The hero’s testimony

And we allow

What’s taken

As an exigent chapter

In the story

Of the quest

That passed under mountains

In the dark

x

x

x

Go Westmarch, Young Hobbit

(paean-ish)

x

Silly hobbit

Writing as if at Bree

In a room above

The raucous tributes

Below

x

Not in the study

Preparing contributions

To the read book

That is so important

It is red

x

But there is time

For twilight

And smoke rings

Beer and cake

Or something better

x

Maybe watch

For someone to come by

Whom we anticipate

Especially

When not there

x

And Middle-Earth goes by

And we ponder

Dancing steps

That might please Bombadil

While Goldberry

Marks the time

With other details

Of the party

x

x

Photo by T L on Unsplash

x

(title a corruption of advice by Horace Greeley)

x

x

x

C L Couch

x

0

Illusion or Reality; Late at Night, You Know

(x = space)

x

x

Illusion or Reality

x

Do we know illusion

The things out of the corners

Of our eyes

I see my cat

From time to time

x

But an actual illusion

Actual

Something we sense

That isn’t there

It might shape

For our senses

But really

Is a thinking

And misthinking

Of our minds

And hearts

Misallied

In the moment

Or maybe all the time

x

Have we seen some things

That are not there

How does this match

With illusions

In our attitudes

Beliefs

And minds toward things

x

The illusion is for fun

Mismanaging our thoughts

Is something else

x

And now reality

Which is something

As it is

Material

No argument

About it

x

The rock is real

Our eyesight

When it’s measured

The Earth is real

When we stand upon it

x

Yet there’s the question

Real or illusive

Do we have the handle

Are we confident

With our machines

Even machine

Logic

x

In a relativistic age

It’s hard

Sometimes

To tell

Though it’s our invention

For an age

To twist ourselves

Maybe by people

Who make money from it

Or harbor an illusion

(hah)

For power

An abstract

Made of will

Always another

Added to our own

x

We could be superheroes

Cape or helmet

But then

That is illusion

For

Yes

Our entertainment

Though there is inspiration

Too

In these images

And faultless actions

x

Hmm

A reason for illusion

To prop up

Even to help direct

Reality

Remove the versus

Then

Consider

Allied with

Even for fuller comprehension

Even for fuller life

x

In the air

Through the barriers

Who is that

It’s us

x

x

something for Friday

something pre-Hallowe’en

for when you are

we are

midnight persons

x

and now

something about midnight

x

x

Late at Night, You Know

x

Midnight

It isn’t really midnight

Three o’clock is midnight

Which might be why

He had bad things happen

At 3:15

x

Midnight for stories

Nonetheless

And a witching hour

Whose story we might not

Really know

What were the practices

Done in an hour

If that

Or more

Or longer

x

Midnight and shadows

Where are the shadows

In the night

Well

With the moonlight

Or our

Artificial arrangements

Against total darkness

‘til the dawn

x

So there are shadows

There are shapes as well

Of new dimensions

Taller

Without features

For a face

x

Except we know that one is there

Something devilish

Autonomic

Human

Is there

And we shall know too late

If there’s identity

After the action

Or is stands there

A small tower

Over us

‘Til we have the fortitude

To move away

x

Shall there be ghosts

And shall there be story

For us to set down

Until dawn

Or share from what we know

And what we don’t

For comfort

Or for titillation

Until dawn

x

We should remain

Keep our souls inside

It might be just a story

Or a real thing

Inside

x

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Nika Benedictova on Unsplash

x

0

Small, Insistent Formulae

(x = space)

x

x

Small, Insistent Formulae

x

Sigh

Let’s love

Love

And make it practical

I’ll carry this for you

You could make something

For me

x

Keep it civil

Better courteous

Keep respect

For remembrance

In our heads

Our chests

Wherever better spirits

Dwell

x

And sing for love

Upon our stages

Certainly

Inside our homes

And in any congress

We might have

Outside

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Larm Rmah on Unsplash

x

0

The Other News

(x = space)

x

x

The Other News

x

Yet there were

Earthquakes

In Afghanistan

Thousands died

First aid

And reconstruction

In rapid action

So wide to bear

x

We must put this in our heads

Because

The news is dire

Elsewhere

Like 9/11

And what happened anywhere

Save in New York

Pennsylvania

And Washington, D.C.

x

But this is dire

Sisters

And this requires response

Brothers

From the healthy

Those with jobs

So much material

And money

Those who can volunteer

Exigent skills

x

MSF is there

Unless politics gets in the way

Also the Red Crescent

And all the groups that monitor

And respond

x

Then in time

We have to contemplate

How to keep things

Such as quakes like this

Tsunamis and eruptions

Elsewhere

From happening

Though we’re better at

The monitoring

At least

x

And prevention

Might affect

A war as well

From happening

x

And what else

Is happening

Out there

Let’s find out

Please

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Sohaib Ghyasi on Unsplash

x

0

the war today

(x = space)

x

x

the war today

x

hundreds

Israel

Palestine

(with or without authority)

the USA

with victims

and providing weapons

for generations

now

and more

now

x

no one to think

to fee

approves of war

it is a way

to add in destruction

to the fray

of parties

in fact

releasing demons

in explosions

and in decisions

made in trenches

x

it is

a morality play

but without the play

no stage

or actors

costumes

properties

or anything

pretend

no sound with fury

unless inside

our engines

and for real

x

abstract the numbers

maybe

but not really

each number is you

each number me

a count of two or more

is us

x

Hamas did something evil

and now Israel responds

these are

the necessary evils

really necessary

enacted

in fact

happening

with missiles

and with hostages

x

who fights with righteousness

there is some

who fights with anger

well

there is rage

in war

against which

disconnection

typically unreal

might become

a strategy

x

the count means something

more so each one

for family

immediate and extended

remains returned

they make the greater

weight in war

remaining heavy

after any

resolution

x

we hear the tremulous

inside the news

terror in correspondence

x

who shall win

someone already knows

and shall we keep the faith

to learn again

so many things allowed

too many

for the self to bear

and afterward

decide

x

we hope

we tap the moments

we wait

in abject dullness

abject fear we’ve heard about

we know

static as if frozen

except

who are first-responding

x

and in the devilry

with those who try to set up

what is next

knowing

war has lost control

when

the head is hit

the heart of us is bleeding

x

there is no sense

except

when the damning thing

is over

not over there

but done

everywhere

x

I am afraid

(I mean afraid

the feeling

the thought

the sensation

unconversationally)

I’ve said this

before

x

but honestly

I want to vote for life

and have all our ballots

count

for penitence

new lines

perhaps

x

maybe returning

if no better

to the tension

inside negotiated

peace

x

what is the end

shall we exhale

torn earth

torn bodies

torn hearts

muscular and divine

let it all

let all the evil

x

well

let’s finish with all that

and having learned

or will

to sew

to build with stone

because there will be

so much to patch

to build back up

for life

or to inter

those who must rest

from life

for now

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

x

3

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