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Manic Monday



Manic Monday
(and don’t panic)

God sang
The song into creation

The lion did as much
And our holy words
In works
Imply

We are created

We are that song
Or its interpretation
In darkness
And in light
And the bestowal
Of a garden

With the first object lesson
For the teachers
That the garden
Stands
For something we
No longer have
While we must work
In labor
And in labor
For
What we got

Each era is a lesson
We could say
And maybe they progress
The human ages
Which is why
We say
They’re ages

(we get older)

We grow
Some

We adapt
Physically
Some
Though not as much
As one might think
For as long as we’ve
Been here

And this might not be
So much by us
As by
The touch of God

God knowing
We’ll need adaptive parts
As we go on
(grow on)

What do I know
It’s Monday
And I’m feeling existential

With the blues on electric pages
Making less sense
To me
(than could it be
our music style)
Than paper
With its white
And off-white
Receiving of
Our pen strokes
Painting
With black ink

C L Couch


[note to me and now to us
so what’s this poem about?—it’s about thinking and writing, yes, really about both]


     I am having trouble with the blue lights on computers.  Or the part of the lights that are blue.  Or maybe feeling blue.  I think it’s both.
     The result is that I’m even more recalcitrant in using this thing.  This vital thing.  I’ve had to use it for a while then rest my eyes.  Rest my eyes upon the rest of the world.
So if I’m worse about responding than is typical (and typically it can be pretty bad), then I’m sorry.  But as the emperor said quite uselessly, there it is.
--Christopher


Photo by Marija Zaric on Unsplash

Nous existons.  Vraiment.

1

God Buy Ye


God Buy Ye



God be with you

‘Til we meet again



As God is with you

Now

Which is to say

With us

And a hope

Therefore

For company

As you go upon the Earth

And through the

Changeable

Sometimes trap-laden

Population



God with you

God with me

If I may say

And certainly with us

Mine

And yours



Better than Mizpah

Certainly

More so

When Moses met the king

With the stone heart



More like near the rock

In fact

Where water

Leaped to save us

Or like Galilee

Where thousands met

To hear

The saving word



God keep you

And us

Even through

Maybe a long time

‘Til

We meet again



C L Couch





God buy ye, a Medieval understanding of salvation (paying a condemnation’s ransom with the coin that was Christ’s life); God be with ye a wish for spiritual company and comfort for a friend; all becomes Goodbye


though ironically I say hello from Pittsburgh where I was brought through cold, some snow to arrive; I get another car here, since mine was totaled (no one hurt except some cars), which is technically the main thing; I get to visit with some family, which is the real thing


hoping your winter days (or summer to the south) are grand,

God be with ye,

Christopher
1

space ranger God


space ranger God



so many

science-fiction futures

read sad to me

yet

maybe I know

why

because they are nearly

always

God-less

the meaning not mentioned

much less

taking part

in new creations

and inventions

comforting

again

our flaws

but gladdened by

the progress

humans make



it might be hard

to craft

too difficult

in fact

since we must invent

our future

stake our hold on it

come disaster

or a clean and silver form

of paradise



and how to say

there’s God in this

that God

pushed us in the spacecraft

that brought the first

to a new world



we instead

must

try to own

and have such bid for ownership

tested

and tried

by what we find

or whom we find



there



toward a final tempering

of us

that accommodates the cosmos

for the differences

we find



to mesh with them

at last

who we are



perhaps we fear

the role

of God would spoil the story

(the real story

too)

and so we play out

only ourselves

on new

planetary stages

and all the things that fly

between



smallest things

(like mustard seeds)

or

parsec-sized things



God might bide

at the launching pad

or well behind

like farewelling parents

waving kerchiefs

allowing tears

for those who leave

we shall not see

again



though

in fact

God sees

and might see toward the end

of our expansion age

how we have done

and what we’ve done

to be here



there might be

judgment following

of our accounting

then decisions

regarding more dimensions

multi-universes

to encounter



encounter serving as

the theme

maybe the most important theme

in sci-fi

and for all the real findings

it inspires



c l couch





Spaceship Earth

photo by Ronald Yang on Unsplash
0

Once and Future


Once and Future



Camelot has fallen



The last knight rides

Away

Into the sunrise

Of the first day of the year



So Tennyson decided

Maybe based on information

Or more by

Insight

That had moved the poet

Through

Construction

And destruction

The rising

And the falling



Raised by music

Like cathedrals

Or said the poet’s peers

By the command of

Merlin

While depicting in

What must have seemed

Indomitable stone

All ascent and descent

In

Human ages

By

The wizard’s art

At its command



Now fallen also

The unearthly being

Sealed away

For now



And we are left

To ride away with Bedivere

Into our uncertain year

As

A matter of courses



When this hearing is done

And in our case

Unready for the courts



Ideals

By betrayals

Story-slain

As if by Mordred

Also

Guinevere

And Lancelot



All exposed

As our

Baser impulses toward

Ruination



Wrecking the foundation

Into rubble

That can

Support nothing like

The comely towers

Anymore



What kind of year

Is this



Where is the refuge

For the refugees



Shall Camelot be rebuilt

If only by words

In songs

Until we have the might

For right

To try again

With mortar in

Our stanzas



For now

On this first day

The sounds of riding

Harsh

Like our discourse

Now concluded



‘Til we open up

The pages of our lives

Again



While in a distant place

Already to be set

In camouflage by nature

The final

Burning

Broken stones of the last battle

Settle into

What had been

A part of Earth

More glorious

Somehow

By us



C L Couch





. . .

Or thought he saw, the speck that bare the King,

Down that long water opening on the deep

Somewhere far off, pass on and on, and go

From less to less and vanish into light.

And the new sun rose bringing the new year.


from “The Passing of Arthur,” concluding Idylls of the King by Arthur, Lord Tennyson




Photo by Jigar Panchal on Unsplash
1

first city

(x = space)

x

x

first city

x

what if we had built a city

inside Eden

it would be clean

through and through

crime-free

another place

where God would meet us

every day

to go over things

finding new things to name

new wonders

to talk about

to love

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by AR on Unsplash

x

4

having been incarnated

(x = space)

x

x

having been incarnated

x

oh

God

we say

you’re born

you’ve slipped inside

the pacing

of the world

flesh cells

adapting

to our measure

to our growth

and our decay

three score and ten

how does it

feel

x

I guess you knew

what this was

and is the human part

surprised

by mortal beats

the skipping

of the heart

outside

the rhythm

as we say

of the spheres

x

and are you well

will you

catch cold

or get mumps

have influenza

as our children must

from time to time

it seems

x

and you

will endure

(you must)

though it won’t be

so comfortable

with chicken pox

x

and then

grown-up

to feel

all that we feel

and think inside the vacuum

the shell

of thoughts

inhabiting the skull

and not much further on

nothing like

the mindset

you must know

inside eternity

and Godhead

x

and there are feelings

in the chest

desire

for the nation

yes

and only

for your own

because you are

humanly

entitled

x

yet what shall you have

when your body

it turns out

is for a cause

even

perhaps part of a plan

to cheat mortality

like the stratagems

of Pharisees

or statues of

self-styled kings

or emperors

x

Rome and Judea

and there is Parthia

and Britain

way-off China

and there’s India

and there are first people

everywhere

who belong

where they have moved

and stopped

and finally

no place to move

with what they have

for moving

x

all the people

of the Earth

post-Alexander

and never having known

Alexandrian expansion

or Roman roads

connecting

a known world

x

yet

are you here

for these

everywhere

which means

you might be here for us

here and now

x

I suppose

the other two

of you

will out

while you alone

are limited

while you must live here

with only us

for easy company

and reaching out

like us

often alone

sometimes in groups

though only through the shell

as we must beseech

mortally

unto the Lord

with questions

asking of a will

we do not understand

yet we believe

is there

x

how frustrating to be human

welcome here

we wish you well

we really do

because should we encounter you

there are stories

about something special

from you

something even

we don’t know

rescuing

about you

even in the flesh

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

x

0

some poems for you today

(x = space)

x

x

some poems for you today

(some poems of the day)

x

x

night will come on

x

second full day of winter

a thoughtful day

perhaps

x

day before the night

before the day

still a blue or purple day

white or gold

in the offing

x

another yet another

gray day outside

to look at it

to feel it

too

there’s something of a chill

x

maybe it’s three ghosts

warming up

in an ethereal bullpen

before descending upon London

or wherever

whoever Scrooge

might try to sleep

inside posts of tarnished gold

having eaten

unappreciated food

and nothing for the child

Want or Ignorance

not yet

x

we can await

transition

transformation

of a night

in a great story

sometimes on Earth

the real Earth

to know

x

x

the allusion is, of course, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, often published with other Christmas stories

x

x

multiplicity

x

sigh

a great God

comes to Earth

having been here already

shooed us from the

garden

set an angel with a sword

to keep us out

should we find it

however accidently

once again

x

a God

who’s always here

already

thus begging a confusion

since we make a deal

of God arriving

though God is here

x

well

the ancients

didn’t have that problem

paradox in time

like characters

from Bible stories

costumed as one’s own

also

in Old English

for example

without a future tense

x

so that

every time is now

and the next thing

and the thing

that was

no worries

x

God is always here

always arriving

too

everything a kind of participle

or a gerund

the subject in or as

a tense

that is all timelines

all the time

x

confused mortality

perhaps

yet replicating

meter of a chaosed clock

that has numbers

that

for the sake of our philosophy

are movable

forgettable

in the exigencies

of moments’

having

and remembering

also anticipating

x

always the birth

always the apocalypse

as well

meaning that

time and meaning

have all seeds

and growth

and harvest

with all accounts

as with all stories

every gospel

all the same

with kairos room for change

here and now

and then

and what’s to come

all the same

here

and in a kind of ancient

(that means contemporary

too)

crazy and amenable

as now

x

was

is

will

as now

x

bless our ancients

for knowing something

of

the ways things magically

and really are

today

from yesterday

into divine best-guessing

for tomorrow

x

x

servile

x

what shall we say

that’s permanent

except that God is love

God is a spirit

plus all better metaphors

a rock

a lion

x

who has an investment

in every good

and reasoned thing

in need

for us to call it miracle

x

water from

desert stone

food in ravens’ mouths

that they abey

until

delivery

x

God strives

to keep the prophets

whole

for the rest of us to

hear

and to absorb

the entire

story

letting

the wisdom

and the warnings

to soak in

through all

our cells

supernal messages

easier metaphors

for meaning

x

no riddles

save for fun

sometimes erudition

(though the simple ones

are better

aren’t they

Bilbo)

no requirements

beyond a willing

and created nature

x

there being

no stars for gain

(there are no Sneetches

and there is no

McBean)

no refectories

with sainted machines

dispensing

when the answer

or indulgence

might be right

that is

Earthly correct

x

rather leave

our kitchens

for serving

real food

for need

and in a turn

for pleasure

since there’s no reason

service should not be

pleasant

as well as exigent

with even

seasons to remember

the life outside

inside

x

the gospel within

food

perhaps

though better

after

so that we might be

sated twice

with victuals

and nourishment

from stories

forgetting not

our own

x

x

the clock that smiles

x

tomorrow go to church

or last night

this evening

later the next day

until the sun

decides

to set

and an indulgent clock

must by the maker

say

it’s had enough

x

there is this morning

too

there is right now

and shall we worship

God

inside a heartbeat

savoring the next

secured

inside

the believing beat

of now

x

x

c l couch

x

x

photo by Dominic Tham on Unsplash

x

x

God bless

our in-between days

x

1

Sci-Fied

(x = space)

x

x

Partly inspired by “There Will Come Soft Rains,” a chapter in The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.  This part of the story speaks to what is left of us.  The chapter’s sad.  Nonetheless I often think upon it.

x

x

Sci-Fied

x

Should the bombs fall

And I am atomized

And you

And the insects shall find

Nourishment

Not through flesh

(I’m atomized

so are you)

But through bits of trash

I had not the time

To take our back

x

And shall the Earth survive

To have another age

x

I remember

In the days of Strontium

We said we could

Destroy the planet’s crust

And so leave

The molten mass

The could heave

Or be

Settled down

x

Nostalgia

For a future guess

x

The Earth might have

Its own

As it once held us

There could be bees

And flowers for the bees

Or something

For pollen

So that something could

Pollenate

And there be land

With flora

Feeding

And softening

What’s left of our platforms

For another age

Of Earth

x

Arthropodic

Or could it be with feathers

Things that move

And have their being

Avoiding shadows

Form which

There used to be

Something in charge

Though now

The lesson’s different

This time

The arthropods

And feathered things

Have sentience

And speak gospel

x

While the Earth

In its own way

We never got

Though it was there

Shall smile

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

x

0

3 poems, when you have time

(x = space)

x

x

3 poems, when you have time (one poem about observation, one about reading, one about war taking all)

x

x

Observe and Report

x

For preamble

Nothing like

The burdens of a people

Upon Joshua

Or Caleb

x

What’s petty

What is meaningful

Too often

I don’t know

I pick up a stone

It’s not a park

There are no regulations

I take the thing with me

Becomes an artifact

At home

x

I am reminded

Of the Earth

We are set on

So many layers

To the center

Countless to go out

Again

To try to count

x

Clueless

It and I

While it’s supposed to be

And I think I should know something

About the atoms

The formation

Its place

Near my fingers

When I found it

When I take it up

Look upon it

Now

x

x

Read Me

x

Not unlike the words

Commanding

Alice

To forward

Her adventure

x

Words

Well

Words have

Such value

So the lines are short

While

Reading slowly is advised

Going slowly

Generally

x

Yours should be read

This way

As well

x

Time is a treasure

Though we should parse it out

Surrender it in particles

x

Not worrying so much

About the measure

Since the bill

Of sale

Is not our own

But investment the creator made

Inside creation

x

So let’s take our time

As said

Although again

It’s not our own

But lent

At best

And for our use

Simply

As use

x

Please take time to read me

I’ll take time

Reading

You

And then there’s

The needful time

For vital

As in lively

Response

x

x

War and After, After

x

The wars go on

Again

I can’t imagine

The explosions

The dust

The rubble

And the blood

Beneath

x

And the things of blood

Of bodies

That once held the lives

Of souls

While here on Earth

x

Now stolen

As if by gods

Self-styled

With machines

Black and pretty

Smithed

In hell

x

And this is metaphor

Impressions

The real thing

For those alive

Is all about

The running

Avoidance of more anything

Like that

Again

x

And then it happens

There is more

It’s worse

Nothing inside ourselves

Ever

Really

Gets used to it

x

And then

Maybe there’s a moment when

The silence rings

Notes of nothing

Anymore

While looking

Touching

For flesh containing life

We might embrace

To take

And to offer

What we have

x

And there might be people

Come from

Too short a way

To find us

For ourselves

To treat us

Representing

Something clean

And institutional

Away

x

We might be taken there

Where

Objectless walls

Close in

With noises in the distance

Or have we brought them with us

And is it noise

That closes in

The distance

x

We need medication

Sedative

To leave all this

Except for bodies

That have names

xxxxxWe cherish both

xxxxxWe want them

xxxxxHave to search for them

xxxxxTo know them

xxxxxAnd to have them

xxxxxOnce again

x

Though we might have to settle

In without response

While life is measured

Sometimes

Without

The power to the building

And their efforts

And the dust

And rubble

That came in with us

x

The war

The damning war

The reason we say bloody

For the worst

Things we can think of

x

Fleshly containers

Holding flesh

Until they must

Let go

x

Who are they

What are their names

Who are we

Where are we going

x

War take all

Peace for the remnant

The ghostly revenant

Left over

The dust

Of everything that’s taken

For what’s left over

To remain

x

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by Ansia Lasa on Unsplash

x

0

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