(real) wrongway satisfaction
empty
how to be filled again
pearls cast
wise as doves
gentle as
serpents
which works the opposite
of the truism
though maybe doves have wisdom
and serpents may
have
wisdom
and things work upside-
down
or in and out of time
the way the faithful claim that
foolishness is wisdom
the backward
take
look another way
from the world into eternity
c l couch
1 Corinthians 1:21
photo by Fredrik Öhlander on Unsplash
have or have not
yesterday we have
in pieces
today is a whole thing
from now to now
confusion
when we’re tired
or bemused
notwithstanding
leaving the partial thing
like yesterday
tomorrow
also
in pieces of
guesswork
and expectation
well
the wind outside
is blowing thoroughly
on the branches
and I’m pretty sure
it’s cold
from the time
and the narrative
of
the season
what we have
is what we have
and what we know
we know
and I’m thinking that
control
profit
agendas
that are hidden
really don’t help this moment
that we have
and to expect
though it’s honestly a mystery regarding
next
but mysteries
have joys
if we allow
and maybe disallow
the heavy things
that
keep the letting go
down
and
down
as if
to Goblin-Town
or worse
only shadowy things for real
we think
we have to own
and wield
to own
c l couch
title swiped from Hemingway—an homage of, I mean—who might have swiped it—been inspired—from Ecclesiastes, Donne, or a sociologist
[sociology about the haves and have-nots]
yesterday’s image was of a bridge at or in New Orleans, picked because of the city and the recent tragedy occurring there (plus bridge as a metaphor)
photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash
“Hand holding keys to a new house. Real estate residential.”
2 poems about thoughts and feelings post-election
About Electing Lies
Well
I am disappointed
So I guess
If I’m convicted of
Many crimes
And I’ve committed fraud
And broken promises
In marriage
And other relationships
So that
In fact
I break faith with everyone
And if I do not pay my bills
And if I want
To accuse people I’m afraid of
Of everything that isn’t
True
If I make a style
In fact
Of lying
And don’t pay my bills
And
By the way
I take everything that’s wrong with me
And say it is another’s
And not me
Though
It is
All I have to do
To get away with
All of it
Is to run for President
And get billionaires
To buy my way
For
Their own
Agendas
The same folk who
By the way
Won’t welcome
Me at
Table
Otherwise
It’s 17 June 1972
Another
Day the music died
And what we learned but that
We cannot
Trust the government
And should stay away from
All such things
And have
So much easier living
Through
Indifference
The Topsy-Turvy that Has No Playfulness in Topsy-Turvy
There are those
Who learn about the Holocaust
And take notes from
The evil side
So that the lie might be acknowledged
That some good things
Happened
Then
In Germany
Not
To say we can’t be academic
Though the filter must be moral
Or we are pursuing nothing
Human
Or has a place
On righteous Earth
We should be
Rhetorical
Understanding something of
Our honest discourse
With each other
And
We should study flaws in that
Tradition
You know
Straw people
Post hoc propter hoc
Gilding the lily
Though
Again
The point is not
To strategize to use the flaws
To dupe each other
Though
Some will
It’s
Sad to know
And one more thing
That should be
And that isn’t
Is that
Politics
Means good government
You know
The pursuit of by the people
And yet
Like taking notes
From the wrong side
And
Going for the
Discourse flaws
Not
To mention
Spewing accusations
In
A puerile attempt
To escape one’s
Own
The codes we could live by
Like good governance
And topsy-
Turvy
Fun on Ferris wheels
But good and evil upside-
Down to try
For ways to live
Simply act against
The deeper
And the shallower things we
Really know
Those presuming leadership who
Act against all virtue
And all wisdom
Though
Might
Try hollowly
Merely to use the worlds
Invite the citizenries
And
Congregations
To subscribe to indifference
To endure
C L Couch
(sorry should there be any ranting parts but not sorry for any easier-living-wisdom parts)
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
Kind Brief Invocation
O God
Be our Tuesday help
Forgive us our
Mistakes
Our other-side-of
Edenness
‘Cause
Sometimes
We let fall
Or we forget
Without malice
But our flaws
Pervade
There is
The Kintsugi of wisdom
Help us fix
And even beautify
The scars
By
Gold understanding
C L Couch
Photo by Brian Pappel on Unsplash
[sun and dew transform—goldify, as it were]
gifted
I’d like to give you each
a present
though I’m poor
and not the kind of poverty
that saints admire
for I have little
mystic understanding
and what I have
is tied
to nothing like
how much
how little
I have
I’d like to say
go slowly
as the Buddhists
say
especially
when parting
I’d like to say
remember all your loves
made up of
reason
practicality
and balance
not that passion
doesn’t count
it does
but there should be a measure
in most things
of what is right
and what is easy
(like
Jack’s pieces
well
maybe not so much)
which is
(really)
to say
let all good things
have their place
and do not rearrange
from the heaven
of creation
and the philosophy
inside all things made
for there is
certainty
as well as confusion
the way this world works
and don’t deny
the sure things
that you
and others
who are smart
and might be trusted
might ally
I’d like to say
think God
(like another movie)
though I know
that’s not enough
or I could say
love
and let love
not frilly silly
(‘til the day)
but steady
and trustworthy
have its say
and guide
however trite it sounds
each day
I guess
some things are cliché
like the way we use
iconic
meaning not a symbol
but celebrity
believe
and love
so common
(a cliché)
and yet maybe
we can still ourselves
and our sophistications
to accept
that some things
important things
the most important things
are commonplace
no secrets
no requirements
but to accept
what is instilled
(installed
as it were)
within internal palaces
or offices
or bungalows
(I’ll take a wooded cabin)
in the mind
in what we call the heart
in what really is
the spirit
might be
an alliance of the spirits
one by one
within
between
our groups
our nations
for an errant world
on its quest
our quest
to grow
to acquire
and to save
good things
and we could have rituals
and easiness
(not mindlessness)
in what passes
from the Earth of now
into
the next
of now
c l couch
photo by Luca Pennacchioni on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
but choose any day
x
and it’s Friday
how are you
really well
I hope
(well and more
that is)
here the sun’s out
and it’s cool
the best of both
heat and cold
for a while
and when it changes
as it must
the sun and sky
wind and air
decide
choose any day
there are its merits
good parts
that don’t need the bad
for understanding
but take us through
until we’re back
to just
or mostly
good for a while
x
the bugs
prefer the sun
when it’s gray
they tend to stay away
meaning
I think
that sometimes bugs are smart
and I mean to say
they might augur
how we might be
today
and further equipped
depending on
and if
we read the signs
x
new days
should follow
and I hope this one
knows you well
or gets you better
with its attributes
and gifts
some might say
miracle and grace
I’ll say that
for you
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Mikhail Vasilyev on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Crusoe
x
It took me years
And years to come
To understand
The need
The requirement
To have a life
To have a life to offer
x
Then there is a story
Pages
Chapters
With an ending
That might satisfy
A larger world of woe
And grace
Even rescue,
Notwithstanding
x
What is left
Is little time
The gift grows smaller
Like some things
In other tales
But we have time
As is
On this side
And choices
That are not invisible
In fact,
Are rife with potency
x
The grace of God
Love and understanding
Growing up at last
The tragedy
The humor
The finality
Of wisdom
On this side
Then to another shore
An irony for Crusoe
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Jordan Steranka on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
Wealth of Nations
x
O God
For invocation
Oh, God
To plea
Our world groans
With war
And the imbalance
Of the greedy
Systems
x
Justice should be a system
Greed is not good
Unless you’re winning
For a while
While all our cells corrupted
May yet cry for mercy
x
The ears to hear
Might be
The last to go
x
God
Help us
And forgive us
The Earth is ours
And we forget
And leave it to a few
Who vote for nothing
But self-fattening
And a self-deceiving glimpse
Of real power
x
Let all rise
(the poorly-
agendaed, too)
To march
Or stand in place
To sing
As if
Accompanying Earth
With all the antiphons
The spheres above
Below
That glide
And when against each other
Glory in the sacred touch
The music
Of all order
And all chaos,
Arranged
As creation’s gift
x
And this is wealth
Not the other
Once we feed each other
And can stand or march
(or sit with age
or disability
and purpose)
To hear the strains
Of everything
And offer ours
x
Our gift
Unto the glory
Of Earth
And all-around’s,
Of God’s all
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Illiya Vjestica on Unsplash
x
(x = space)
x
x
We Prayed Today
x
“Today is a privilege” she said she’d
Embroider on a pillow
And on the other side, “I’m still
Breathing”
Because for all the despondence,
The despair we take to prayer
In our group,
There is beauty and joy
And so much to love
In fact, it’s what we love that turns
That often
Leads us to prayer
Compels us
We pray for the good things, too,
Wanting the goodness
We pray over cherishing the messed-up
World we have
And the messed-up lives we care for
And our own
We say amen
Knowing it’s never
The end
And we say thank you
With intention
We mean it
We are grateful
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by KARTIK GADA on Unsplash
x
clcouch123 
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