southern exposure
now it’s Tuesday
out back
the red looks brown
near-
winter brown
already
though the red out front
more fiery
by sunlight pouring through
the backs and
fronts of leaves
so
maybe it’s a matter
only of shadows
only
of daytime hours
and if the light could shine out back
there would
be fire art
out there
as well
c l couch
photo by Klim Musalimov on Unsplash
so much depending
red outside
at last
plus nearer the back window
late fall
but fall
scratching
speaking to the season
as
colors from cold
should
and if
there’s no relation
then
it’s all anticipation
falling
as it were
into each one’s magic
c l couch
photo by Natalia Fogarty on Unsplash
gray time
it’s late
it’s fall
winter’s rise
a month away
the bears
have eaten salmon
I saw the camera’s highlights
of
bear
red flesh
and moving stream
taking
what is red
away
so now
the bears are done
(the
salmon gone)
and time for the
sleep
of a season
in the impulse of the bear
and the gray comes
earlier
should clouds
impede
a brilliance for a sunset
either way
and then
is
black-paned night
maybe
rest
regardless
after
hours
the next
the new day
c l couch
photo by Val Vesa on Unsplash
Sunset in Cluj, Romania
God Love You like a Lizard
God love you like
A lizard
You know the
Small
The salamander kind
Green or red or brown
But made
Just right for all impulses so
To thrive
To move with halting grace
Through life
To dine upon whatever
Then to sleep among
Warm rocks and sheltering leaves
When its world
Is all right
Around it
Yes
Love and the
Lord
Like the eagle
Too
With expansive and majestic
Wings
And the beak that promises
To tear many things
Asunder
(yes
my dear
like lizard's flesh)
But don’t forget the lizard
(in its primacy)
With all its wonder
Small
Green
Or red or brown
Unassuming
Fit
With nature
And the cosmos
In its
Tiny
Tiny
Role
Inside creation
And via its (tiny) role
Above
C L Couch
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
(x = space)
x
x
Valentine’s
(belongs to you)
x
Valentine got famous
For correspondence;
Other saints send messages
x
Valentine left words
Of love and encouragement
As other saints have done—as
You or I have done
x
Then red and pink took over
x
Red for hearts,
Pink for I don’t know
x
Lace got in there, too:
We covered up our furniture,
Covered our piano legs
With that
x
Well, why not?
We need the colors in the winter
And red means passion,
Loyalty as well
x
While pink is fragile
As are all relationships
In part
x
Happy day for strengthening
Like exercise,
Metal in devotion
Like the metal in the jewelry
For a sign we wear
x
Happy Valentine’s
With valentines
x
Don’t force it
Or deny it:
If deny it,
Maybe do so
With a saint’s
Prudent
Contemplative quiet
x
For the rest,
Give the cake
Share the cake
Eat the cake
Enjoy refined sugar
Or have raisins
x
Or above the silence
And beneath the noise
Go slowly—pleased to
Talk it through
On or by
The sidewalks of the world
x
C L Couch
x
x
now you have a day to plan—you’re welcome
x
By Lorie Shaull from Washington, United States – Happy Valentine’s Day!, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56401542
x
(x = space)
x
x
Art Show
x
My goodness,
It’s brilliant outside
The green has changed to red
Lit by the angles of
The sun’s afternoon
x
The larger trunks
Are tubes of transit
Moving our eyes
To the show
For which there’s no ticket
But the chilly air
(also a transiting device)
x
What is blue is blue
In the moment
Looking out and up
There is no impedance
From a cloud
Or interruption
Of a contrail
x
If there were
It would be a
Recipe’s ingredient:
Another element in
A complex design
x
It’s quiet through the window
There could be movement
But there isn’t any
Maybe to stay the moment
We may look longer
Let the silence
Stun the colors
x
Have this
As a MidAtlantic gift
Before a winter’s
Bareness calls,
Giving notice to
Another kind
Of traveling exhibit
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
This Autumn Morning
x
Gray with
A patch
Of red
Inside black
Branches
Red leaves
Attached
Maybe until
A winter wind
Comes to
Take them
Through the
Air until the
Breath’s expired
Then gravity
Must have
Its way and
Like the roots
We can see
And-or touch
Must lie upon the
Earth
And inside
For a while
x
C L Couch
x
x
Joshua Tree National Park
Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash
x
Peace, Prevail
(for the USA and all)
Red leaves on trees
Against the season’s
Bright blue sky,
Branches lightened in
Late-afternoon, autumn
Sun
Vision of nature
Hope for a nation
C L Couch
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