day without asking
day without asking
unsaid what is borne by hours
twenty-foured season
C L Couch
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash
Westmarch
sometimes I wish
I were a
well-to-do hobbit
except for
the living
in the ground
even a comfort-home
in there
would aggravate
most likely
claustrophobia
as being carried by
an eagle
would invoke
the other
unreasoned fear I have
but still
to have a day
to write a book
of my adventures
having had
adventures
first
and to have tea
close at hand
with cakes
and at a table
by the window
with my pens
(all right
computer)
and paper
at my side
and on which
I write
(well
type)
and maybe to have
friends
who come to call
for friendly reasons
only
I hear their stories
while
I also think
on dragons
Dwarves
and Elves
and wistfully
believe
I should be somewhere else
with them
c l couch
photo by Andrew Seaman on Unsplash
look out now
merest blue
it seems
with
a guess
more than a hint
of more light
behind
what do we call it
pre-pre dawn
that
spell-check
would challenge
when we
write about this
later
expect it
o be cold
and so allowably
do
what we do
a time
to pull around
more clothing
from the bed
or closet
on the chair
(maybe
the floor)
to find some extra
socks
(maybe on
the floor)
drink water
also look for something
warm
that could be from
another body
or if alone
from coffee
or if not
from both
nice morning
well
a morning
like a morning
should we not stop
by
the fence
somewhere
to look around
without our eyes
to get it
this happened
yesterday
and
it’s extraordinary
‘morning
everyone
look around
c l couch
photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
(update on the computer shutdown from a few days ago)
my computer is not working right, though it’s okay in bouts (me, too); a friend suggested I use a table fan to deal with overheating (maybe for both of us), and she’s right—the measure seems to work for now though it’s probably an unrealistic arrangement for durance
https://edgeofhumanity.com/2024/02/06/longing-for-the-god-who-stays/
second publication in Edge of Humanity
again,
I am published in the magazine
of text and imagery
Edge of Humanity
I am more than second bout
of gratitude
I also feel lucky
like the Irish side
might feel
from time to time
more thanks
to Jo
editor and curator
and may I say
you should read
enjoy
be changed
by the magazine
that sponsors
galleries
of words
and sculpture
also acrylics
watercolors
photographs
a panoply
and celebration
of the arts
that should
change us
Christopher
(C L Couch)
Photo by Steve Douglas on Unsplash
Prayer for Me and Everyone
(and everyone who needs to pray this way)
O God
Our help
Help me
Keep me safe
And sane enough
For jazz
Or really
For the world
Largely indifference
But with those
As we say
(as I say)
Who’d just as soon
Cheat you
As smile at you
(who cheat you
first
by smiling
at you)
Really
Though
I need your company
And to feel it
Please
As companionship
If I may ask
Not so much
As a judge
Even though you are
And shall
And woe to me
When that business
Comes
And
Yes
I’m thinking
Like the Amish farmer
Who when asked
If saved
Replied
For all this faith
And service
I hope so
And I hope so
Though there is a world
That needs you
Even for orneriness
And even
Scorn
And hatred
For the differences
It fears
While some of us find
Difference
Interesting
And how did I evolve
This way
Conservative
Yet believing
In the prismatic way
One light becomes
Well
Help me
Lord
Please
I am too poor
Without resources
To do much
But I am I
Such as that is
And it seems
According to doctrine
And the smallest
Mustard-seed
Like
Miracles that happen
You persist
Somehow perfectly
In loving me
And keeping me
And I’d like to ask
And will
About my friends
By blood
And choice
And happenstance
And for a world
That’s cracked
And losing air
To please give everyone
A chance
And then another
We need you
In unknowing
We are a cloud of witnesses
If a stormy
One
You made
And let become
Over ages
Where is Eden now
Where are the rivers
And the perfect
Vegetation
And shall
We ever
Know such things again
As at the start
If that
The angel on assignment
Could step down
And lowering
The sword on fire
Raise the other arm
Then say
The trialing time is over
Welcome back
C L Couch
Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash
simplicity for
haiku in and of itself
so much undefine
c l couch
photo by Viviane Okubo on Unsplash
to my cybernetic and my fleshly family
my computer's burning up
as with fever
meaning there's no fire
far as I know
except maybe
on the inside
as happens
signaled by devices
on our foreheads
or elsewhere
the machine is old
I guess
in the way
machines like this
get old
though my senses
as a hobbit
and a Luddite
get confused
but last night
like the theatre after hours
my machine
went dark
in something like
an impulse toward survival
I imagine
it came back
and might endure
in spates
of time
and functionality
perhaps
in the mean time
(like the theatre)
I might have to go dark
myself
here
and also there
not that the world won't change
because of all
good things that might be
happening
because of you
thank you
be well
following seas
I'll be in touch
as I can
(not may
this time
depending on my own
battery life)
until with
a new device
I guess
then
returning shall be more or less
indefinite
not undefinite
like certain questions
that some of our work
intentionally
proposes
Christopher
photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
(and blue's my favorite color, sigh)
Pen Pal
It’s a bright day
Here
If it sticks
It will the first one
That we’ve had
In a while
I’m tired
Slept poorly
I had coffee with friends
Last night
Which most likely
Kept me up
Though it was good
Coffee
And how is it
Where you are
Just now
More importantly
How are you
I’d
Like to know
More important
Than
The weather
Without doubt
Though
You know
The weather
Has been an easy
Entry
(and
entre nous)
Into conversation
Except
Maybe
Anymore
With changing climate
Then
Who knows
Who’s affected
By
What happens
Climatic
Anymore
So would you
Mind
Telling me
How you are doing
And how safe
In any way
You are
Just now
Sincerely yours
C L Couch
Photo by NOAA on Unsplash
it is Wear Red Day
locally
it is a “Heart” day
I am told
(with all the viewers)
wear red
remember
who’s researching
how to live with
all the troubles
that might happen
to this muscle
also
standing
(symbolizing)
for so much
National Wear Red Day
especially for women
who tend to go unidentified
as victims
of heart trouble
the day
this day
is also the centennial
of the American Heart Association
so much research
so much funding
for research
and also teaching
learning how often
this might happen to women
inside women
(yes
inside men
and don’t I know)
but the symptoms
can go differently
so differently
and she
and those for she
should know
identify
and react so fast
when these might happen
to her
red day
we are red
today
and red means oxygen
which all bodies
should take in
to nourish all our parts
with freedom
though when impeded
we need
red help
the symbol
raising money
and awareness
and our hopes
starting here
with her
with him
then to the world
with all the hearts
heart-lives
out there
out here
c l couch
(and, yes, it’s been the time for Imbolc and Candlemas and Saint Brigid and the groundhog did not see his (Phil’s) shadow—and these mean more than we may know for how we observe and take part in our seasons and also all our days
but women suffer from not only heart disease but from lack of awareness of symptoms and then what to do
while heart disease kills all of us more than any other reason such as cancer or crime)
photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
clcouch123 
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