Not Our Town
I don’t think
You think of it
The problems that you cause
That what’s your fault
It isn’t mine
And mine
Does not belong to you
We go the way
Of the world
So to say
Noise for noise
Anger for anger
What’s the end
Some kind of disaster
Unclimaxed
Which would be real
Lack of material
Resolution
One of us withdraws
As in leaves
The other lets it
Without
Resolution
Because it seems
We can do no better
In the world
Not in Gaza
Which is hardly fair
For comparison
Not in
Nothing like
Mister Wilder’s
Or
Our town
C L Couch
Photo by Monica Bourgeau on Unsplash
snow on one branch to start
snow on a branch
then move closer to the window
to see the snow
is everywhere outside
of course
and this is good
it’s winter
and it doesn’t look severe
most of this will clear away
and the temperature
supposedly
reach fifty
by
midweek
it’s the kind
to look at
and to watch it fall
as if nothing else is pressing
even though it is
calls for a drink
with rising vapor
and to sit
at something
by the window
take it in
and also think
and feel
far away
this is hardly farm show weather
it is so mild
but it’s the first snowfall
to note
in a year
and will have to do
being an untroubled visitation
on the first day
of
the January fair
c l couch
photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
After Rain
x
I don’t what to say
There are so many things
I do not know
Movements and people
The inside health of the world
Or the root of evil
x
I could depict a scene
Go to a local park
Or look outside
It’s cooler now, less hazy
A clarity of all the scenes in town
For good or ill
x
Maybe I want
To say something more
Without pedantry
Though to moralize is human
I can only hope for reason
And some fairness to all sides
To win out
In me
x
You
Them
Us
x
Well, it’s the weekend
The heatwave has receded for a while
I have nothing planned
Maybe I’ll take a drive to nowhere
And come back
Richer in at least one way
Than when I left
x
I should walk
x
And you should have your time
I hope it’s good
You need something good
And are so worthwhile
And so deserving
There, moralizing after all
But I’m on your side
A fan
Larger (wider),
An advocate for peace
(smart, not stupid)
Planetwide
For us
x
Understanding venial
Praying for mortal
x
Maybe there’s something
Pursuable,
What is reasonable
With an ingredient of wonderful
x
C L Couch
x
x
Forest ↟
Photo by Filip Zrnzević on Unsplash
x
Where V Means Wild Geese
I wished I lived in someplace cool
It’s relative, I know
Cool to me would mean, well, cool
A northern clime, I suppose
But cool in the other way
James-Dean cool,
Which for me means a plethora for metaphors
The kind that blesses Mary Oliver
In her turn,
One season followed by another, each day
Therein a chance for some new bird
Or amphibian
Or wild flower, unbidden, that rises
I live in my small town with brick surroundings
I like it well enough
And, if I must say, there are worse places
Sometimes the days go gently by
Sometimes there is a thrill
Inside all right angles
C L Couch
Canadian Geese in Spring
Rennett Stowe from USA – Canadian Geese in Spring, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26301433
Lost World
A borough in
Western Pennsylvania
(towns are called
Boroughs) that
Died when steel died
And, unlike the city
Close by (that is only
Called a city),
There was no
Rising up,
No Easter-kind
Experience
Anything that might
Be beautiful is old
From the time
When beauty
Could be afforded
The bones of
Some buildings are
Strong, while
Others stand ready
To fall over
With a sigh
Children attend
A consolidated
School in the area,
Learning to
Leave already
The bar owner
Can’t afford it
But must have
The place
Open anyway
For where else
Can one
Drink hope
Persistence alone
Without substance
Keeps life
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 
Recent Comments