try
the sun tries
and there’s wind to welcome
blue
to highlight evergreen
with leafless branches whose
slender ballets
look
tireless
and to hear some whispers whose
code
only known between the sky
and these parts
of Earth
try
regardless
and thank goodness
c l couch
photo by Mila Young on Unsplash
if there were great expectations
what is expected of us old
which
I’m still trying
to tell
(both kinds
of
telling)
because the line in me goes back
to childhood
with what is remembered
keenly felt
too
often
against which
I think I am supposed to be invisible
by
youthful society
of all those whippersnappers
who
don’t know
I think I’m pushed to say
how good
things are for them
yet they might know
while
I have some whipping
(unliteral but
sharp)
and some
(whatever)
snapping still to
snap
new robes of office
like those honestly
wary
by the lords in Macbeth
or
the pretending gift of Medea’s
poisoned cloak
that
once worn bursts in flame
for
all our sins
piled on to curse
to prove energy
though
delight can become danger
when
expended
if like the artist
no longer young yet
working out
significance in what is now
(again
obliged)
the dry time of
the day
so then try
untry
if not unfeared the journey not
untrapped
by who is the child
who
is older
c l couch
photo by Lisa Yount on Unsplash
[still wanting to fly]
Attempt
At church it was announced
Someone tried to kill
Donald Trump
It happened in Butler
And I don’t know the circumstances
Though I know Butler
A small town
Up Route 8 from where I used to live
Go through town
Turn left
Go on to school
From there
A smallish town
It was
And I don’t know how it is
Today
My being some hundreds of miles
Away
(not having gone back
in years)
Once my team and I
Played on the radio
There
Sang and taught some
Gospel
Parochial
Some would say
American
An easy place to hold a rally
Until yesterday
I could wish him to drop out
(I have wished)
But
Never
Never
Never
In this way
(and he won’t)
And someone died
Someone else died in the attempt
Then (also) the shooter
Others hurt
While so many of us feel wounded
This morning
In church
And in the nation
After the announcement
The Doxology was
Sung
A song of faith
As are all songs of service
Sung
In parts
In harmony
In earnest
C L Couch
Photo by Josh Eckstein on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
two more brief poems today
x
x
Black Branches
x
The squirrel ran criss-cross
Up the branches
x
Zig-zag ladder
I certainly had not noticed
Upon
Looking out
Into the dark-grey day
x
The squirrel’s smart
Good legs
The tail helps
x
And the creature’s
Totally
Impulsively involved with nature
To be so in tune
With all vibrations
x
Must be astounding
To have so much
Ordinary
Magic
x
x
8 to try
x
Hanukkah tonight
starts
8 days for a miracle
x
what if
we try this for our
universal selves
x
8 days for peace
before they arrive
that is
something
outside ourselves
to judge
x
pretend
there is a deadline
x
find out
how far we get
then let it stay
for real
beyond 8
you know
as long as we can
or may
x
8 and more
as if the world
were at stake
which
you know
it is
x
x
Photo by Mila Tovar on Unsplash
x
x
C L Couch
x
(x = space)
x
x
Something on a Shelf
(for anyone feeling alone)
x
I don’t want to steep
In bitterness
The tea that’s made
Isn’t worth the drinking
Perhaps not even with
The sugar of
Someone else’s kindness
x
Try again
From the start
Set aside that substance
(trash it later)
There is an old jar or a new one;
If you remember,
There was savor
In the substance
In the memory
Now a promise of renewal
x
Try it now
Reach, if possible
Remember what’s worth remembering
Almost a guarantee of renewal
In the trying
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
x
Lauda
All the things I should have said
All the times I should have said
Thank you
I love you
I’m sorry
Let me help
Yes, it’s me
Yes, it’s maudlin
Though it might be useful
I might be
Maybe I should wear motley like a fool
A reminder to step out of the folds
Of an otherwise fixed and unkind people
To say instead
I’m fragile
And I make mistakes
But I’m not done
To say instead
To act instead
Let me try
C L Couch
Wikimedia Commons
n.b.
There is nothing to say
That hasn’t been said before
But if I feel something new,
I’ll try
With what I have
To say what to the world
Is the same old thing
C L Couch
Something
If I don’t do something
I shall do nothing,
So I try
To do this much
What is this much?
Not my writing it
But your reading it
And our responding through;
Anything that might come
During or after
Means I am doing something
(For) we are doing something
clcouch123 
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