rest with
rest with
I think of thick
cloth
maybe with a scent of earth
and what is
the scent of resurrection
I don’t know
the face
for fear
for shame of looking
but I can’t help
but rest
against the folds
and a little ways
inside
I rest
and I don’t know the surface
of the ground
beneath
it could be firm
it could be clouds
if could
be fire
but for the company
I’ll keep resting
maybe fall
asleep
daring and remarkable
in the Earth-turning
and somehow homely presence
of the Lord
c l couch
for Easter Monday
photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash
If Silent Providence
And where is God
In this
And God is here
Loving
Showing how to love
If yes
Annoyingly
Invisibly
Except it’s God
And we should respect
The way of God
Being
You know
God
The maker
Ruler
Loving
Loving
Perfectly as both
With all the power
And regarding
(perfectly)
The will
Inside of us
Allow
Into the world
Regardless of effect
Though there be consequences
You know
Real consequences
(if sometimes
as
metaphors
like
monsters on old maps)
A situation
Then
Call for
Unseenness
Un-hearingness
From God
Except for evidence
With sometimes
The approvable
Prophet
With a prophecy
That
Un-affirms
Nothing from the Lord
But steadies love
And
Words it for
The current age
C L Couch
Photo by James Chan on Unsplash
thy faithfulness and 14 June
(two poems)
thy faithfulness
and now for God
though maybe
God has been with me
from the start
because if not my own
it’s in
God’s nature
and certainly God’s
skill
and also
desire
the same desire
that made everything
and more
the wish
the will
to love the everything
and above all
and with the will of
unfallen angels
to love most
ourselves
we are that important
not for demons
whose interest in consumption
is not the healthy use of
creation
but frankly
to suck us dry
of flesh and spirit
and then display the husks
eagerly
in hell
but we have God
and willful angels
elected
on our side
and in the room
though will leave us quiet
when quiet
is soulfully
or physically demanded
quiet
time
and should we wish
some company
divine
with less than a word
shall be here
to cheer
and to guide
to love
and to show
how love
begins and ends
with presence
one form
or
another
14 June
(2024)
happy
Flag Day
Mitzi’s birthday
the puppy
(not the flag)
who crawled up
on the porch
the day our family
moved
into Pittsburgh
northern suburbs
and remained with us
the next
seventeen years
and was
extraordinary
patient with
several
growing children
as for the flag
you know
we flew it
very day
I recall
there are some things it seems I wrote about most years; today is a thing
c l couch
photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash
Awestruck
God come through that door
And I shall be
Terrified
Which is part of the awe
That God deserves
With the reason why the angels
Say so often
Be not afraid
This might be difficult
Though it’s
Finally
Good news
That makes more officially
A gospel
Of the Lord
With us
An Immanuel
Time and again
Angels on assignments
A voice
A gesture
That could bring down Jericho
Or Midian
Or approve the execution
Of Holofernes
Nothing to see
Except in accidental daring
While most of those
Who hear
Do not see
Except in the world changed
After
Supplication
The results
An affirmation
Too
Of a holy presence
So much more than us
And also
Quite frankly
Inside us
Of a kind of molecule
Our machines
Have yet
To count
So seek the Lord
Or wait for being sought
For
We should find each other
To have experience
A history
Of faith
And what we hope for
The action
And the learning from
Tandem theology
With the only agenda
That is
Acceptable
So we may plan
With details
Then have
And then testify
To grace
As approval
C L Couch
Photo by Bamdad Norouzian on Unsplash
with or without a garden or an upper dining room
well
God
I’m here
and where are you
why
look
you’re here
you’ve always been
and it’s
so much
the patience to remain here
while I
prevaricate
to think a million
other things
as if
they matter more
and justify
the saddest
putting-off
for
my specific greetings
my confessions
petitions
for my needs
and needs
of others
more specific
and for the entire
world
and the whorls
of the cosmos
that need
you
out there
and I’m sure
more than
in here
in this hour
when I happen to awake
to find you here
or
in a
sleepy moment
to unlid
my eyes a little
see you
then and there
surprise
as well
always
a miracle
and I’m chagrined
to take up
your presence
and your time
the way
I do
not
to say I need a bell
or other
signal
from assemblies
(though
I like
bells
generally)
and shall you send
an angel
as an agent
for assistance
homely
and extraordinary
though it’s
especially
your Spirit
that is
needful
as a saving source
and guide
your word
you
as word
is needed
to get me there
and then
with you
and to remain
even
while here
for all my faults
and prevarications
but also
with broad hints
of there
(un-agnostically)
say
through the song says
after here
live
in your house
that follows
and is filled
with goodness and mercy
and is filled with
forever
c l couch
1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
John 14
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/John-14-2/
photo by Lucas Hoang on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
the deep
x
and God
I know you’re here
you’re always here
thank goodness
in
the quiet
and noise
sometimes the shame
or simply the embarrassment
in doubt
in pride
in vanity
x
I learned
no height
or pit
no place
either
where you are
are not
x
you’ll find me
where I am
and as I am
not so much
because of me
but because
of who you are
the spirit
and the way
x
life
direction
comfort in the cold
shade in heat
clearness
when in doubt
identity
when everything
inside is lost
and no one knows
the goodness
in creation
or the facts
of the next day
x
you are there
you are here
we have a chance
and better
roll the dice
palm the token
‘round the neck
or in the pocket
x
they are not needed
but we like
our things
x
comfort in the cold
shade when it is hot
water
when it’s necessary
and all the rest
while
we are here
in dreams
or vanity of waking
x
no height
or depth
so far
we do not know you
or you don’t reach
to take us
anyway
x
c l couch
x
“There is no pit so deep God’s love is not deeper still.“
Betsie ten Boom to Corrie
x
x
photo by Eric Muhr on Unsplash
x
(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
(x = speak)
x
x
LoveSpeak
x
What does God’s love say
In the face of danger?
Through many dangers,
Toils, and snares
God’s love says
I’m here
The love is here
The source is here
The host is here
We’re here
x
Though there be anger,
Scorn, and fear
From enemies and friends
Alike
Because doubt and unbelief
Might have to have
Their way,
The love of God is first
And follows
Like the currents inside Earth
And over,
The moving pillars
Cloud or fire
That are before
And after
x
Alongside in
The truth of companionship
But I can’t see that
You can
It’s more than senses
With which we perceive
As best we can
x
Presence and love are better
They are inside
And out
They speak without words
Until it’s time for words
x
When we have ears to hear
And cannot hear,
Count on the company
Of the divine
To know us better,
Pick us up
If fallen,
Go with us onward
Leading, should we ask
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
x
“Amazing Grace” (the hymn) referenced above
x
(x = space)
x
x
Hurry Up, Please, It’s Time
x
Time to pray
My God, you are here
Sometimes your presence
Seems so thin
Like vapor
In the morning
Then sometimes a
Numbered weight
Sometimes a fire
That frights
x
It’s how we imagine you
Though you are manifest
As you are manifest
Not invisible
Not hiding behind a tree
Awaiting human mischief
For a peak
You are not voyeurish
x
As it is, you’ve seen it
Heard it
Touched it all
Our antics are not of interest
Unless we should please you
x
That would be
A forest of content
With scenes of love and action
(love in action)
That would delight
In fact
And in fact
Of all the constituents
Of nature
And believers
x
Animals might pray
Might live in prayer
We must talk
Must confess
Must ask
Though, yes, we may
Keep it in the mind
Just behind
Or just inside our tongues
x
You hear us
Remarkably, some time
And every time,
Which is the miracle
The need
Even the requirement
To pray
For us to mutter something
You to hear
x
Sorry
Thanks
Love
Amen
x
C L Couch
x
x
(I take the title from T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”)
x
Photo by Alex Wing on Unsplash
x
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