Shall We Dance
I don’t know what
To say
More importantly,
I don’t know what
To do
What would you do?
You would love through everything
And give
And serve
You would breathe justice
And you would also allow everyone a voice
And give everyone a turn
You would let water roll
And gather it in still, green places
So that people might have a drink
And maybe around which
To build
And then let the water move on
So that it gathers safely
And keeps moving to feed others
You would
Protect the land,
Give people what they, what we, need
Though we would yet be on our own
Because that is the truth and mystery of will
You would allow each one an hour on one’s own
And make it fine
When each of us returns
To be welcomed back sometimes as if we had been gone for a long while
You would let us be parents
And also children
The child to be a child, certainly,
And also let the grown-ups be from time to time
Like children
You would remember we aren’t perfect
There are flaws built in through sin that maybe wasn’t ours
But in some paradox
Or even some kind of unfairness
We’re left to deal with
One by one
And in every generation, until everything’s renewed
‘Til then
You’ll keep us from perfection
Yet love us without flaw
While we will pray and liturgize haphazardly
Depending on our creeds and the splinters we’ve allowed
‘Til unity
Make sense
For love
And practicality
And you come down
Come up
Come form the side
At last
To finish the justice that was started in creation
To fix our flaws
The way we broke the Earth
The way we break each other
Mended finally
To last
As last
And how we were
The first day that you made us
When we had a garden to tend
That for all we know
Was planetwide
At first
And everything to name
Because you meant for us to task
Everything we are
And love the work
And labor of our lives
So today I will wonder
And do things
And wondering’s a thing
And think on you
And think on everyone
And everything
On Earth
And in the stars that as a kind
We have only started
To approach
And hopefully
If flawed
Though flawed for now
And even though
With your approval
As some of us
Wrote and sang
Shall we dance
After our work
And in our work
C L Couch
The popular song “Shall We Dance” is from the musical The King and I, though there is an earlier, eponymous movie (a vehicle for Rogers and Astaire).
Photo by Levi Williams on Unsplash
reasoning
(a prayer)
O God
Oh
God
(invocating
supplicating)
how are you
in our lives
how do your angels
work in dialogue
between
two sets of wills
your will
so elastic
as to have us
mess it up through
discretion
or what seems perhaps
an accident
or random thing
from us
and yet your will
predominate
your cosmic will
and will for all your spirits
made
and always
from the beginning
ending
and beginning
and everything between
so how shall we have our days
our hours
in ourselves
not pawns
but active players
in some plan of yours
one plan
and all of us
somehow
as parts
yet what we do
must matter
from the inside
to the outside
even the outermost
and is it miracle
or an extraordinary
definition
of happenstance
or some other medium
in which
we move
and have our being
and our choices
matter
they are valued
they turn into
the ultimate reality
and for our judgment
into paradise
how does that work
what stretches
most
within your will
that becomes a point of doctrine
for our lives
a code
for our discretion
well
what we know
is what we know
that our choices
make a difference
in a universe
of shared presence
manifested
so you choose
so I choose
so we chose
not in a vacuum
but some substance
our of
everything that’s real
the real
that is material
divine
individual
and overarching
if not overlording
oh
Lord
our Lord
how majestic is
your name in all the Earth
maybe an odd affirmation
(time to time)
when you
have no name
being I am
we have names
we have bodies
we have spirits
we have choices
and all of it
has value
part of your way
that goes in every
direction
where solidity
and spirituality
have room
for a plan
we don’t know part of
but in whom we are
the stake
we decide
we could always
learn the rules
(they are in many sources
universally)
then go so far as
to obey
c l couch
Psalm 8:9
photo by Árpád Czapp on Unsplash
Prayer for Me and Everyone
(and everyone who needs to pray this way)
O God
Our help
Help me
Keep me safe
And sane enough
For jazz
Or really
For the world
Largely indifference
But with those
As we say
(as I say)
Who’d just as soon
Cheat you
As smile at you
(who cheat you
first
by smiling
at you)
Really
Though
I need your company
And to feel it
Please
As companionship
If I may ask
Not so much
As a judge
Even though you are
And shall
And woe to me
When that business
Comes
And
Yes
I’m thinking
Like the Amish farmer
Who when asked
If saved
Replied
For all this faith
And service
I hope so
And I hope so
Though there is a world
That needs you
Even for orneriness
And even
Scorn
And hatred
For the differences
It fears
While some of us find
Difference
Interesting
And how did I evolve
This way
Conservative
Yet believing
In the prismatic way
One light becomes
Well
Help me
Lord
Please
I am too poor
Without resources
To do much
But I am I
Such as that is
And it seems
According to doctrine
And the smallest
Mustard-seed
Like
Miracles that happen
You persist
Somehow perfectly
In loving me
And keeping me
And I’d like to ask
And will
About my friends
By blood
And choice
And happenstance
And for a world
That’s cracked
And losing air
To please give everyone
A chance
And then another
We need you
In unknowing
We are a cloud of witnesses
If a stormy
One
You made
And let become
Over ages
Where is Eden now
Where are the rivers
And the perfect
Vegetation
And shall
We ever
Know such things again
As at the start
If that
The angel on assignment
Could step down
And lowering
The sword on fire
Raise the other arm
Then say
The trialing time is over
Welcome back
C L Couch
Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
first poem led to the second
x
x
staging
x
orange-pink
next to the tree
in the distance
deep blue sky
mostly
with the morning star
small and white
looking far-off
nova-like
in the waveless sea
predawn
it’s dawning now
only started
when I looked through
the blinds
hearing nearly nothing
on the street
in the tree
the usual outside
the window
absent
muffled
however everything prepares
so early
for the normal noise to come
x
x
Open Range
x
God
I wondered
If you ever might
Be surprised
Like us
Because you are in part
Like us
I mean
It goes that way as well
Made in your image
Aren’t we then
Like you
And if it’s on the inside
Then emotions
And sensations
Might be attributed
To you
Pleasure
Perhaps
And passion
Love
Even the fragile feeling
And do you feel sad
x
We say you’re angry
(it’s in
our books)
It was the impetus that
Forbearance
Allowed enough
The ark
With some people on it
To survive
The keel-less journey
x
Some say Gilgamesh
As well
While some and others
See and hear
Your anger in extremities
Of nature
(outside nature)
In the storms
Lightning fires
And eruptions
Even in
Quakes
That certify your condemnation
Or our use of land
x
Or that you stretch
Because you do
Your might because it is
Inside the
Cosmos
And must have its say
In addition to
The munificence of creation
x
So if
Everything’s available
Every aspect
Then you might mourn
And be taken
Unaware
Be satisfied
And disappointed
Have a plan
And have it moved
Knowing both parts
Are approved
x
And there’s the qualifier
Maybe
Whatever happens
Happens
In your sight
And your hearing
The smell
The touch
The taste
Of your omniscience
So that
Fragility is held by strength
Options are
More or less contained
And unaware
Might be for fun
Except for earnestness
Part of the plan
Somehow
You feel it
And you know it
Then move on
So you could say
With justice
That you knew it all along
x
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by César Couto on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
I Should Get God
x
I should finish
For the day
Though I haven’t thought of God
Frankly
Enough
Even in everything
Thought
Reason
Let those serve
Better than roted doctrine
But through holy words
Inside
x
For there
(sometimes in the world)
God is there
I know
Existence not incumbent
On my knowing
x
It is a choice
Not to exist
But to believe
x
I talk throughout the day
To someone there
Who is not
(if I were crazed)
A Roosevelt
Or Fred Gwynne as an angel
x
Though I like Fred Gwynne
An angel
(you may look it up)
And so think of his portrayal
As an angel
Telling stories
In a deep voice
Given to
A sonorous performance
x
That’s my suburban way
Real angels are magnificent
And frightening
Reflecting awful
As in awe
In aspect
In deserved
(for being)
In response
To God
x
But we talk
Maybe-angel
And I
And I am nudged
Throughout the day
For choices
To consider
And which work out
(tend to)
If I listen
x
Presence
Like a present
(pun)
For grace is free
Salvation won already
A door that works
Like a door
Except
Without a door knob
x
We are inside
There is a knock
We know who it is
And only with a latch
Only on our side
And shall we open
And invite
The one we know
If only heard of
Now and then
x
And it is Jesus
Even as a stranger
Exudes the promise
Though we may leave outside
The person
And the invitation
We are allowed
x
Existence doesn’t change
So much
But our will
Is changeable
As it is viable
x
We truly make the difference
In this meeting
Thinking head
Incising heart
Maybe a hopeful spirit
With yes
Well
There is God
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Katia Rolon on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Arborism
x
What will God tell us
To do good
x
Well, to do good
x
What if we’re feeling
Old and sick
x
And virtue
Seems too hard
x
After surgery and all
Or simply years
Of needing the investment
To get by
x
I don’t want excuses
Or to have them
Excused
I want resources
Energy
And time
x
Great things to consider
Though not so much when
We have them
We complain
We grow complacent
We choose bored
x
We all have something
For the whining
A tonic
Say
Say
Reality
Sometimes admittedly
A herculean lifting
Of a desert screen or
Something we believe
Might be on
Fire
To keep it there
Like Atlas with the world
Or the elephant upon
The wheel
Upon the turtle
x
Balancing
Then yes
With risk
Reaching under
That heavy
Skim
Detritus and illusion
To deal in the truth
To clear the roots
Spruce up
Our perception
Look at
What’s holding up
The holding up
And what is healthy
What needs
Pruning
What needs sliding off the top
For good
x
Maybe we leave the balance
Then
Clear roots
Above which
Sits our world
Our own
If there is something
x
A little easier
Or at least more visible
Atlas might not shrug so much
But smile
(the turtle, too)
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Clint McKoy on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Gestation
x
I don’t know
It’s Friday
It’s raining
We need the rain
The clouds have little texture
At least from here
x
Nothing much to look at
A wet street
Spatter on the windows
We need the rain
x
There is war
In Ukraine
More death today
More wounded
And in Sudan
We’re drawing up our diplomats
Telling tourists
To go home
Choose another
(for now)
x
We know there’s trafficking
Where
Here
Of drugs
Of people
Contraband things that
Otherwise
Could be all right
x
But you know
People
Never people
Sold
Which means someone is
Buying
Where
Here
x
Struggles for freedom’s
Hard enough
On good days in
(relative)
Safe places
x
And they
The captured
Kidnapped
Bought and sold
Are not all
But tend to be
Children
Women
Who
We know
Struggle for freedom
Already
Hard enough
More than should be
Enough
x
On Friday I could cry
But the sky
Provides
As if behooving
I could say
Nature weeps for me
As in
Instead of me
And that
Nature weeps for all of us
In distress
But it is nature’s
Well
Nature
x
That’s all
And that’s enough
The rain
Provides
Other good things
x
But I’m thinking now
There should be
Laws
For freedom
To work within one’s
Bearing
Bearing
Who we are
What can we do
x
And freedom of our bodes
Politic
Personal
That many of us
Think we have
x
Let’s check the laws of nature
And our charters
I think it’s there
Many
Freedoms
Already
There
Officially
And by
Who made rain
x
We may read wet leaves
Or our own pages
Fearfully
Consider
Wonderfully made
And what
To do
With what and whom
When made
When with accountability
Co-making
x
Rain
Tears
Freedoms
Fridays
Notions
Not like the old
Department-store
Departments
(but) Full-blown
Like glass
Full-grown
Into ideas
x
We do
Need these
A good weekend
Please
For you
You deserve it
It’s deserved
x
Does rain mean freedom
I don’t think so
Sometimes
It’s relaxing to watch
To hear
Sometimes
It’s fearful
The median response
Might have something to do
With inconvenience
Maybe this is part
Part Friday
Too
Of freedom
x
C L Couch
x
x
Psalm 139:14
x
Photo by Sharon Pittaway on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Glory
x
It’s a Sunday feeling
For those who have a Sunday
To be speaking
And singing to the Lord
x
The pastor cites
The shortest psalm
As an invocation,
Which is an invitation
More so a directive
To be singing
x
Can you imagine David
Dancing first
Before the ark
When it was brought into
Jerusalem?
There was singing then
And all the instruments
We’ve heard about
That played
x
Today is Mission Sunday at this church
So there are connections to the world
x
Everyone’s invited
Everywhere
Not as a number
But as you,
You are invited
To meet Jesus
Through us
Not because we are messiahs
But because
We can quote him
Tell his story
Show you something of his love
For everyone
And the hope that the whole human world
Might be saved,
x
Which is God’s wish
But not God’s will
For God has mitigated God
In favoring our will
And our decisions
Yes, it’s the reason why
The world is so flawed
And screws up so badly
x
That according to the story
Has made us
The silent planet in the universe
Burning other planets
With what happened in the garden
And then
Going quiet
While the planet’s fate is determined
Of itself
x
Then there will be noise
x
But here is David
In Jerusalem
And there is great noise
Locally
That celebrates
That helps to consecrate
The presence and the symbol
And our rendering of faith
In holy God
And in each other
As neighbors
And a nation
x
The world will not know you, Lord;
And nations will fall
x
We could wish it were not so,
And we do
x
But not everyone will be there
In the sky
The circle won’t be broken
But our hearts,
Well,
They are other matters
x
It’s a Sunday feeling
For those who have a Sunday
And take one
Or on another day
x
We have been ransomed
From kidnapping,
From the prisons
Huge or small—all intimate
When they should not
Have to be
x
The world violates our souls
And yet we believe
And from the ashes
Of all sins consumed
At last,
We shall rise
Who choose to rise
x
The glory of the Lord
In homely ways
Inside the heart
We do not understand
x
How something so
Cosmically grand
Can live in something
So small
As our souls,
One soul by one
x
Then there is the glory
That we read about
And then imagine:
The universe made straight
While also bending low,
We with that
And all the Earth
That knows at last
This is it,
The certainty of God
In blinding presence
That will not hurt our eyes
And the song of angels,
Unbinded song
That should destroy
But will not touch eardrums
Adversely
x
The glory of the Lord
Clearly
All there is,
Compelling
As to break our souls
Though it will not—in fact,
We’ll never had been
Better,
Freer,
Then to get
Our next assignments
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Christian Cagni on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
We Need You and Sometimes We Can’t
x
Help us to love you,
O Lord,
Though
You may live without us
x
Still, we can exist
Together
In a bond that is
Extraordinary:
Of energy, of will,
Of love without agenda,
All around
x
It’s hard to love invisibly
With thoughts and feelings
We can’t see
And then
Your presence, Lord
x
With things unseen
And unevidenced
In other ways,
Our senses confounded
For lack of usefulness
The kind employed in what we do
In anything—and
How may we
Sense you?
x
There is stigmata for a few
And apparitions;
There are those
Who hear your words
In air
Or those emblazoned
Understood
Upon the heart
x
We want to know;
We get frustrated
Then we worry
For offense
(offending God does not seem smart)
Or we give up
Ignore
And in internal ways
We walk away
x
But you are there
We should believe
And within parameters
Of material and abstract
Hope for more
x
That on this side
We may have in measures
That will have to do
For life
And faith
And all the things we have to do
To make things better
One by one
And altogether
x
Tolerance
And patience
Peace
And feeding
Giving water
Giving hope for more
In all the needs of life
(material and abstract)
x
Help us, Lord,
Or let us help ourselves
And the others;
Be with us
And invisibly
Leave us to choose
In respect
Of how we’re made
And otherwise arranged
Our will
That we often apply well
Even without
Preternatural accoutrements
Composing a few rituals
For service
Pledging how to live
On our own
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash
x
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