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Form

(x = space)

x

x

Form

x

God

I love you

Even though

I’m unsure of the terms

Or attitude

How to be both

Obeisant and

Democratic

x

See

You’re a monarch

Absolute ruler

Of the universe

(more than He-Man

or She-Ra)

While for now

To mortal lives

You’re also

Frankly

Invisible

x

I may say

You’re in the wind

Your fingerprints the bark

On trees

And all the patterns

Helix

Hexagons

The nautilus

In nature

x

We may say there’s evidence

I may say

And I believe

The wonder inside everything

Indicating

A wonder-maker

x

And there are words for you

As you speak

To Adam

Eve

And prophets

Though you tend so speak

Through agencies

Especially after Eden

Still

We say your words

Which is all right

For me

x

You are layered

Through the books

And we must read

And listen

Let it sink

Through layers

Into our own deep places

Reemerging

Into peace

And promise

x

We are surprised by joy

x

But who are you

And how are you

An image

In what ways

x

And how are you

Today

x

How is it to know you

And to live with you

Really

We wake to a clock

And then what

Should happen

x

There are domestic

Possibilities

When Jesus says

To wash and comb

x

When mourning

To offer in the temple

Our poorer

Open selves

Then give

What for each of us

Corresponds to the

Widow’s mite

x

We know you count the hair

Track the falling sparrow

Offer bread

When sinners offer stones

Plus you prodigally receive

Whenever we return

From profligacy

Spending our inheritance

The gifts you gave

And what we have

From the world

All gone

And only we are left

As shells

Needing frankly

Food and water

x

And then you give us

Feasts

While the righteous and the stern

Glower

While serving

x

There is that stream

Of course

We wander by

So I guess you somehow do that

And in some form

So we might walk

Together

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Luke Ellis-Craven on Unsplash

x

0

The A T

(x = space)

x

x

The A T

(from Maine to Georgia)

x

The trail goes

Uphill and down

Around big cities,

I imagine,

Nearer to small towns

x

There is a station

Near me,

Which must be

A welcome sight

To trail-goers

x

I should

Go in sometime,

Though I’m

Not qualified

Having only walked

The trail

For an hour or so

x

I doubt

There are brandy kegs

Or Saint Bernards

To go with them

x

There might be

Maps,

Maybe words

Of encouragement

Left by other hikers,

Other errants,

Other pilgrims

x

Who wanted to

Accomplish something

Or own some

Really long spells

For thinking

Or simply

Had to take

A long, long walk

x

Safety can’t be

Guaranteed,

As it is an adventure

x

C L Couch

x

x

We hiked up Blood Mountain in a thick mist, the air sharp and refreshing as the clouds shifted around us at shoulder height. When we reached the summit, we found ourselves perfectly sandwiched between two cloud shelves. For the most part, our view was white and void for a nondescript distance, but for moments here and there, mountains and valleys emerged, both in the blankets of clouds and visible briefly beneath.

Photo by Mitchell Griest on Unsplash

Blood Mountain Shelter, Blairsville, United States

x

Appalachian National Scenic Trail (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

x

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

x

0

The Trail

The Trail

 

Who gets the good?

Who gets the bad?

We do at least in here

We have it for the asking

We ask it of ourselves

We ask providence for help

This much we get

 

One step and then the other

And we’re on our way

Toward a path we’ve chosen

And which, if

Covertly (this is grace

until revealed, sometimes

a surprise)

Will have chosen us

 

The good then selecting

The bad will make a claim as well

Spirits will mediate

Depending on tradition and

Our current habits

Stay the path being generally

Good advice

Ready to move,

Even to change course

Should that become

Necessary

(tricks or illusions)

Good will let us alter ways

When needed

Bad should like to keep us in a rut

Neither trail

Path or gap

Being easy

Though we can ask for help, again

That divinity would show us

 

More than allegory

(though allegory, too)

We’re talking choices for

The way

And on the way

It shouldn’t be guesswork

Maybe resorting to a text

Thoughts and insights should help

The kind that only hurt

Or serve single ambition might

Indicate the other

 

Finally, we’ll find elsewhere

That feels like home

Even if home

We never really had

Because it is

Nothing but strangeness and

Foreboding

Should a turn be wrong,

Which will be all right

Because we can turn again

 

C L Couch

 

Photo by Alex Bertha on Unsplash

 

5

Bendiciónes Pequeñas

Bendiciónes Pequeñas

(inspired by and with permission from Cathy Birdsong Dutchak at https://wanderessence.com/)

 

To be brought a small bowl

Of peanuts

Cacahuates—do I recall that rightly?

In a courtyard of an albergue

To accompany the glass of wine I’ve ordered

In the north of Spain

Somewhere along the pilgrim trail

On the other side of Spain, Hemingway might be

Trout-fishing

With or without companions

I hope with

He could have done with more company than

Cats (apologies to the six-toe-to-a-paw friends who

still retain his houses in the Keys,

on Cuba)

 

I’m not sure I could take the path

Maybe for a while

But I could sit there inside a breeze

Of northern Spain

Contemplate the pilgrimage

The pilgrims of all kinds

 

Have a sip

Reach for the bowl

Taste and see

 

C L Couch

 

 

(on the pilgrim trail to Campostela)

Option to Valverde de la Virgen (3.4 km)

Each day on the Camino, you don’t know what you’ll encounter as you walk in the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims. Sometimes you find pleasant surprises such as the oasis of my albergue, La Casa del Camino: Albergue de Peregrinos.

Though it sits along a busy road, it was a beautiful spot with couches and comfy chairs, lounge chairs, hammocks, and beds on the lawn for lounging.   There were areas under canopies and umbrellas and a line of square foot baths, and the most welcoming owners you could ever meet. When I arrived, they presented me with a glass of cold fresh orange juice as they checked me in.

Bowls of apples sat on tables, flower boxes and hanging baskets dotted the space around an above-ground swimming pool (with no water), gardens bloomed, and Buddhas reclined and sat, looking serene.

I sat outside having a glass of wine and one of the owners brought me a small bowl of peanuts.

When I have happened upon places such as these, I felt so joyful and grateful for the peaceful and refreshing surroundings.

This place rates up with a number of top albergues along the Camino.  There are fair shares of bad and mediocre ones.

(my emphasis)

https://wanderessence.com/2019/08/25/camino-day-31-leon-to-valverde-de-la-virgen/

 

Photo by Les routes sans fin(s) on Unsplash

Camino de Santiago, Spain

Perspectives on hills, pilgrims on the way. /// Le sommet d’une colline dévoile parfois une perspective hors du temps.

 

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