simplicity itself
something
short and simple
if not sweet
for
God is long and complex
but likes short and simple
too
I’m thinking
I love you
I made you
I made you out of love
and now for love
fallen
as the Calvinists propound
and sorry that
that happened though
not sorry
for the will in your
and so
love struggles
not in me
though I mourn
and
yes
and anger in perfection
that is mine
still hoping for love
each time
on Earth
as is
and as we might be waiting
all of us
‘til time
c l couch
photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Talking and Walking
x
Now talk to God
At last
Waiting
With all respect
Withholding judgment
‘Til we’ve had a word
x
This is right
And this is wrong
And I guess
I knew that
Though not always
The particulars
x
Who can see
All consequences
x
And I have other questions
That I mean
Less rhetorical
x
How do I do it all
How do I bring it home
Really
How do I live free will
And obey things
All together
x
How do I think
And love
How do I formulate
A plan for life
Then wait for its
Dissolution
x
How do I say
This is good
And this is not
When complex understanding
Mixes everything
x
How do I live
In this old world
The human part
That has such hate
And hides its greed
Inside an
Annihilative plan
That is at work
So far from me
With those who have
Stolen the riches
Of the planet
And seek to dupe
All malleable
And thinking people
x
Where is the love
Inside the hate
And how do I live
With both
x
That is
How do I live with who I am
Who I was made
Like everyone
To be
And to be
Well
Me
x
How I live
Lord
I do not know
Too many exits
Or rest stops on the way
They are inviting
Too many paths
It seems
Narrow and wide
And in-between
x
Which way
x
The world is too complex
For the simplicity of love
And faith
Maybe of hope
As well
x
I clang my cymbal
Except I don’t
I live in quiet
Desperation
Sometimes
With the age
Also frustration
Remaking tiny parts
Of my world
To say
That’s better
There is hope for the rest
x
And is there
x
The world made by you
We are in your image
To look like
Dare I ask
To act like you
x
Are our actions
Part of our likeness
In your image
x
We make things
I guess
We destroy them
Too
And you have ordered things
Destroyed
x
Nothing lasts that we make
And is it practice
Then
As in
This all being a rehearsal
For the real show
That is
The real experience
To come
x
I should add question marks
For grammar
Though there are so many
Plus implied
And beyond me
And I think you know
Where are the pauses
Where I do take a breath
Before the next
Thing
That I wonder
You are patient
Except when you’re impatient
x
Well
Maybe love is complex
Too
Or maybe its simplicity
Weaves through the complex
Showing a tapestry
In wisdom
Or in time
Your time
For all to know
x
Who knows
While we live
And wait on Earth
What secrets
You might keep
Or is there a real truth
That you keep none
x
Love and faith and hope
There are precedents
And these might be lasting
One link into another
Through the ages
And tomorrow
And in next moments
After this
Amen
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
A Simple Faith
x
A simple faith
That says
I love you
God
I know that you
Love me
x
Help me
To love the world
You made
The child you gave
To save it
Keep me
Not giving in
Except to you
In faith
x
Let goodness
Not be slight
Or slighted
Not by me
x
Help me to love
My family
And friends
And stranger I have yet
To meet
Or never shall
x
Pearls
And swine
Doves
And serpents
Not to cast with
Or to invoke
But to be reminded
Of my worth
x
You are God
Deserving all that
God is due
But I must take you
Day by day
It seems
To love you best
Your world
To my listening ear
And the people
Here
x
While we are here
‘Til there
x
C L Couch
x
x
“This Is My Father’s World” is cited and adapted
x
Photo by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Justification
x
Just as if I had
Never sinned,
That’s how I was taught
The word
Like at-one-ment
x
Hope in the small things,
Yes?
Though these are words
Behind which are big things
That sanctify
(big word)
Reconcile
(another)
x
You see, the small things count
The extra sleep
The better cup of coffee
The crispy toast
I live for these
And things like these
x
But there are the big things
Like repentance,
Reconciliation
The kind of things that bring
The prodigal home,
That cause a feast
Once sealed back into family
x
There are the things
That don’t require
Big words
Faith, hope, and love
But might need bigger understanding
Or maybe only
Pay attention
x
God is simple, too
Three letters, three parts
And one
Anything that’s three and one
Helps to explain it
The shamrock
The states of water,
As you know
x
The simple
The profound
The rest for exercise
x
We sin
We can make it up
We can be snow
Or lightless night
We are returned
To the next day
To try
Better this time
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Lenstravelier on Unsplash
x
A Memory of Church
The family of God
That is the church
I have a memory:
A small church building
On the edge of town
Maybe on the way
To the next place
Or into the countryside
Or simply on the
Outskirts; and in this
Church, there was
A very pleasant man
The pastor with whom
I had enjoyed an
Ecumenical Bible
Study in the town
I liked that man, and
I liked that church
He and it were simple
(In the best way we
Use that word), set
Apart—the way I
Think the universal
Church should be;
And isn’t—we want
To be in the center of
Town, where everything
Fashionably important
Takes place
We want to be in
And will accommodate
Much about ourselves
So we can be there
clcouch123 
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