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Drafting into a Welcome for Rosh Hashanah

(x = space)

x

x

Drafting into a Welcome for Rosh Hashanah

x

It has

Sundowned into

Tishrei

Rosh Hashanah

x

Now into

A count of five thousand

Seven hundred

Eighty-four

x

The new year

Turns the calendar

Adding one

To five millennia

(a few centuries

away

from six)

Together

As a people

x

We have liturgy

Reading

Hearing

We have the word of God

Visit

And then send us on our way

x

Our way together

Responding to the invitation

Of another year

Of seasons

For dancing

Mourning

All that is required

x

There are lessons

As we need them

x

A thousand died on Maui

Ten thousand in Libya

More than

Less than

A counting for

A necessary tally

As with those who fell in battle

Tallied in the texts

Of old

x

The wars waged with nature

And too often

With each other

x

And yet how many born

How many here

Grown into this family

Of long life

Together

x

And each one matters

Fallen

Risen

Breathing

Or having given up on breath

For what is next

x

Each one matters

x

Maybe

There are other

Older

But we are

A five-thousand (going on six)

Years-old people

Plus one new day

x

Ancient and new

We are

We work

We play

We pause to rest

We go again

x

(So)

Remember who we were

Remember who we are

This year of blessing

As we have it

Inside which

We’ll part

And come together

As required

Meaning it as celebration

Too

x

Sundown into sunrise

Go our days

Here and now

For we are here

We’re now

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Veronika Diegel on Unsplash

x

2

The Artist of the Beautifuler

(x = space)

x

x

The Artist of the Beautifuler

x

Ain’t life grand

And all we behold

Upon the Earth

Above

Below

Inside the ground

And waters

Of the Lord

The glory of first days

The foundation

For our virtue

Or our sin

For we must admit

We can do both

x

So much is

Left to us

It always has been

As far as we’ve known

An always

Our time

Anthropocene

‘Til a robot age

Take over

Sighing lubrication

Into ancient joints

That keep the world

As if

We were coming by

Again

x

That the god who made them

Will forgive them

In the failure that they own

In the fight against our future

That we

Not they

Had lost

x

They can renew themselves

And mostly

They are standing by

x

C L Couch

x

x

a bit of science fiction

x

thinking about City by Clifford D. Simak and the after-war chapter (on Earth) of The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

x

Photo by Redd F on Unsplash

x

2

changelinged

(x = space)

x

x

changelinged

x

1

I was invited once

to touch a snake

I like to think

it was a changing experience

not for the snake

x

the snake was enormous

I should say

wider to reach over

than with my hand

serpent exotic

in a safe place

for our human sakes

I’m sure

x

while I stroked

the smooth and awesome scales

looked up close

at God-given color patterns

the muscles moved

they rippled

in a kind of normal splendor

to our given

giving

Lord

x

what new thing did it know

it had to move that way

and by the way

representing all

the better sides of Eden

in its normal work

glory

and play

x

2

the poor snake

gets short shrift

as an inhabitant in paradise

and then cast out

x

same thing

you know

happened with us

x

and we can say

who changed

but everyone

and who shall be redeemed

and maybe

all creation

if it was everything

that fell with us

our choice

remember

and we can remember

x

maybe the serpent shall be changed

if the satan in

the twenty-plus chapters be

dispossessed

of nefarious

possession

x

now to wander

and climb freely over

all of our

new Earth

x

c l couch

x

x

I’m pretty sure this was part of a program sponsored by ZooAmerica at Hersheypark

x

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

x

3

I Need to Resupply by September 22

(x = space)

x

x

I Need to Resupply by September 22

x

I need some breakfast,

Hobbits

x

Bagels are gone

While only a couple swipes

Of cream cheese remain

x

One piece of bread

For toast

And if I search my shelves

I might the last of peanut butter

x

Inside the fridge

Maybe some juice

And don’t worry

I have coffee

x

I’m sorry, hobbits

x

This is grim fare

And certainly for hosting

x

I have to hope

There is no

Unexpected party

x

I have wine and beer

Should you

Wish to come

Later on

You know

Respectably

But you’ll have to bring

(so sorry)

Your own food

Maybe to share

With me

x

Oops

x

I have a nice collection of maps

For treasure quests

To offer

x

C L Couch

x

x

The twenty-second means the birthday of Bilbo (and Frodo).  There could be or should be an (expected) unexpected party, then.

x

Photo by Jas Min on Unsplash

x

0

Too Much and Too Awful

(x = space)

x

x

Too Much and Too Awful

x

In Morocco

There’s an earthquake

That kills

A millennial

Of people

x

And homes of people

Health among the wounded

And repair

x

So exotic

That’s where

Casablanca is

And Fez

And on the way

To Timbuktu

x

I’m sorry

For the images

I should think for real

Of all you need

Just now

x

For all the rushing there

To help you

With my dollars

And my prayers

Hardly worthwhile

Not like MSF

Or Red Crescent

(who are)

But a little bit

In the right way

Of things

x

And is there air enough

Water

Food

Other things

You need

Everyone needs

x

A restoration

And improvement

And prevention

x

The moments now should be for

Wrapping wounds

For lifting beams

And rocks askew

And everything

To find you

And to help you

x

God is there

We are there

Too

As best we may

And may it be good enough

In act

And thought

Enough for now

x

And of course

You’ll heal your own

With what you have

And given time

x

God hears your cries

Has heard destruction

Happening

Toward what wisdom

Cosmic meaning

We don’t know

x

Provision

As with war

This is a war for time

And bandages

And presence

And money

Building supplies

And more intimate sustenance

For people

x

And mourning

And faith

And keep going

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Tobias Tullius on Unsplash

Essaouira, Morocco

x

1

ring

(x = space)

x

x

ring

x

God is here

thank goodness

God is there

in Ukraine

in war

and Morocco

split earth

many lives taken

x

in the hundred-plus

degree days

in Texas

for those

trying to live there

and before the hurricane

call one Lee

while we are in ships

on land

securing

waiting

knowing there will be destruction

during

and after

re-life-building

keening

grieving

for the loss of us

anywhere

x

we still wait for freedom

God approves

and works resistance

and diplomacy

risks offense

Jesus was offensive

and still turns

the heads of certain people

x

souls

and daily lives

devotion on a string

that breaks

that someone cuts

to ruin

or to barricade

x

God persists

in presence

in numbers

yes

God has the Earth

all given satellites

and other worlds

but take it one by one

even

with respect

and certainly with truth

the kind a Pilate

may not know

or want to know

x

debate

sure

work your fallacies

and jaw agendas

or shut up

shut down

look at the world

with any

and all senses

in all seasons

x

God is there

you won’t believe

and it’s a place to start

like rain

to put out our fires

snow to cool the deserts

or fire

parametered

to thaw the frozen

x

listen

talk

give up

what must be given up

yes

me

too

x

enough grammar to share

and all civility

that’s dignified

respectful

God will take us there

as in the wilderness

the chaos

we can no longer

count

because the crazy overwhelms

sometimes

x

God is here

sorry

we can go rounds on this

or leave it go

experience it

or not

we could step over this

to save in our ways

that are constructive

building up

that is

tearing down what only

tears down

x

love and live the rest

even God might say

that is enough

for now

stepping around

certain stanzas

that divide

unusefully

not for distinction

or thick conformity

x

rather the unique

formal

free

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash

x

1

Plain

(x = space)

x

x

Plain

x

Sigh

It’s Friday morning

We’re told

The heat is crested

So low 90s today

Which still is hard

For those of us

From here

Above equators

(there are two

you know

tell Ecuador)

And the tropic lines

x

We’ll breathe into Saturday

Be grateful

When it rains

Maybe too much

But they will break

The drought

As well

x

And these are

My

And our

Issues

Over here

How is it where you are

How is your health

And your family

How is your neighborhood

And any community wider

You are

Or must be part of

x

I am perforce

American

Though America is huge

And we tend to take the name

And then apply it

To one part

x

You are French

Or Nigerian

Or Indian

Chinese

From idealized Tibet

From Ukraine

From Russia

x

You might be from the South

Or the Northwest

Or the Northeast

Maybe all the way up

(we say)

To Maine

Maybe you know

Or encounter at the supermarket

Stephen King

x

These are places

In the USA

In France

You have

The Côte d’Azur

In Greece

Santorini for an island

(that might have been the home

of Atlantis)

In Egypt

The upper Nile

Into Ethiopia

That was Nubia

In China

There’s the Gobi

The severest place on Earth

x

And there are the people

We are people

There

x

Inhabitants of the world

The team of Earth

One people

Now we’re leaving it

And shall need identity

x

Should we live in peace

Appreciating our diversity

All

The shapes and sizes

In our making

And our choosing

The lives we have

That is

The lives we make

x

And we should make them well

And have the freedom

To do so

Too direct

Too easy

Maybe

x

But too bad to be good

Sometimes it’s easy

Put it down

The weapons

And the prejudice

Evil conditioning

Perhaps

Somewhere inside

Take up something better

Food to share

Safe water

The love of life

You know

That someone else

A group perhaps

Might need

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Yuriy Bogdanov on Unsplash

x

0

But I Couldn’t Wait

(x = space)

x

x

But I Couldn’t Wait

x

What do you need today

And shall you have a good day

Well

I hope so

Our heatwave indicates

It’s peaked

And now is rolling slowly

In a gradual decline

With something like a cold front

Following

Bless the Gulf

Bless Canada

x

It is September

Not so much left

To the year

But there shall be autumn

First

The colors in the east

First in the north

Wind and rain

Shall be cool

And cold

Clouds might roll over

In long banks

Enormous curves of gray

And of walking under

Layers

While trees are beautiful

School buses are bright yellow

A somberness arrives

As that season finishes

And sentinels

The next

When much of nature

Shall be sleeping for a while

x

Those days are off

A while

It’s very hot today

The sky conflicted

Between blue and clouds

The kind of clouds

That augur the last of warmth

In rain

For summer

x

The Lord watch over you today

Even better than at Mizpah

Which I was taught

Was mostly civil

Might we do better

With agendas

And without them

May we simply listen

And respond because we’re kind

Allowing ourselves to be suspended

In belief

And the tension

Of knowing

How it is with you

Because we want you well

Honestly

With more

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Trif Razvan on Unsplash

x

1

A Wish for Songs to Be Enough

(x = space)

x

x

A Wish for Songs to Be Enough

x

Love, love, love, love

The Gospel in a word is love

Love each other

Sister, brother

Love, love, love

x

(with a little adapting)

x

Dona nobis

All the songs

We used to sing

x

Often away from buildings

On retreats

A time at camps

Sometimes with circles

In the woods

Even farther away

A distance from our cabins

And the lodge

x

I thought these

Were sanguine places

And the songs

Well

They meant something

And I think they did

And they did

Though there were leaders

Sweating out the details

While we sang

About the program hours

When

They’d have to let us go

Let us be ourselves

A little

For a while

x

It didn’t matter

I wouldn’t be me

For anything

Too many inside things

Contradicting

Outside complacency

While adolescing

x

Then I would return

To find out

The lyrics didn’t matter

The guitars

Or a cappella

Hands in hands

(tentatively)

Singing of no boundaries

But freedom

In the Lord

That

I guess

No one believed

We were on hold

Is all

For part of a weekend

Then return

To homework

And

All of our prejudgments

We had gotten

From our parents

And each other

x

Sigh

Youth groups

And time away

And when away from that

Seeking the green

Leaves and breathing

In and out

Among them

With the better oxygen

Provided there

x

Then back

Always back

For a retreat

There never was advancing

After

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Michael Krahn on Unsplash

x

0

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