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presence

the overwhelming

the overwhelming
of Nepal and Tibet

I’m lucky

I’ve gone
under
and come up again

not floods but enveloped
by
loss of breath and
danger to
recover

with scars and fears
yet
still here to learn and to offer
and take in

love
as has been directed by
the second great commandment

water
mud
current
overwhelming gravity
and
by the water
land
and force to still the muscle
take the breath

deliver death like
an angel
painting lintels on a certain
night in Egypt

only this
was from a glacier
that
maybe was
maybe was not supposed to break
and
send the killing ice to water
down
to overwhelm

the hundreds found with
hundreds missing more

to all
a hopeful rescue
or
arrivals
tentative to check
in morgues
for those we might have known

and to know or fear from
missing

so much destroyed and what
remains
and what
to do

and prayer has power

so does money
so
too
does presence
and all work together
present

c l couch

photo by Sanjay Hona on Unsplash

NBC News
August 28, 2026, 7:37 AM EDT
• At least 547 people are dead after catastrophic flash floods Wednesday along the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region, authorities in Nepal said.
• Hundreds of foreign tourists are among those who remain missing in the area, which is popular with trekkers and pilgrims. Rescue operations have resumed in both China and Nepal after they were briefly suspended amid fears of renewed flooding.
• In China, where a mudslide hit a land crossing between Nepal and Tibet’s Gyirong county, authorities said five people were dead and 558 others were missing, including 260 foreigners.
• The State Department says 90 Americans are unaccounted for in Nepal and China, while three have been rescued in Nepal. It said it was not aware of any U.S. deaths.
• The deadly torrent followed a glacial collapse in the Himalayan region, which is home to many of the world’s highest peaks and a high concentration of glaciers.

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rest with


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

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If Silent Providence


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

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thy faithfulness and 14 June


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

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Awestruck


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

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with or without a garden or an upper dining room


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

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the deep

(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

1

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

LoveSpeak

(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

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