Tenaz on the morrow

I tried to love and I failed

On the morrow I rose to try again

I tried to conquer and I failed 

So, on the morrow I rose to try again 

I tried to succeed and I failed 

Then, on the morrow I rose to try again 

I tried to create, to be, to see, 

I tried with every breath I breathed, 

to simply be all I had been born to be.

I fell to the ground, bruised, broken and beat, 

with heavy heart and eyes darked by grief, 

I lay me down to troubled sleep. 

For I knew then that though the price was steep

On the morrow I will try again. 

written 07/14/22 by Jeff Couch 

Petrachian Sonnet, sort of

 A Bit Rusty

For water to flow the pump must be primed,

in ages past this was well known.

Our modern pipes arrive full-grown,

the pipes may be new but the thoughts are ill-timed

With a bit of grace and a bit of luck,

we blow off the dust and we try,

to write without reason or why,

somehow asking the words to come unstuck.

As the river flows, 

the dam breaks free,

quick gushing.

So the inked line grows,

from you to me,

now reading.

written 4/19/21 by Jeff Couch

Note: After writing this I realized I failed to follow the proper rhyme scheme. That is part of the reason it feels so disjointed. I decided to keep it this way anyway. I like the idea behind the poem, even if it is severely broken. I may try my hand at this style again at a later date.

Tanka 2018-06-15

Stormy, swirling skies
Remind me of gentle eyes
Pools of love so deep.
Now belong to another,
Yet my heart still misses you.

written by Jeff Couch 5:46pm 06/15/2018

Haiku 2017-8-23

Paper burns floating

A prayer lifts from my heart

Ashes drift away
                                                                                                                                                                             written by Jeff Couch, August 23, 2017

Eulogy For A Man I Know

He was a smart man but seldom wise
Often blinded by the light of his tries
Oft pondered truths sat stuck in his whys
A smart man but seldom wise

He was a deep man but seldom sane
A taste for flavors he could not tame
The quiet stillness was rustle-stained
A deep man but seldom sane

And when the winds blew fro and to
His grip was lost a time or two
Yet always he settled to start again
Despite fear or faint or heartcries of when

Honor him not, yet shame him less
Not good enough, rarely second best
He played for fun and laughed with zest
He was but a man, no more, no less.
                                                                                                                             written by Jeff Couch August 1, 2017

Simple

Simple
Sweet
Easy rhymes.

Ahh to be young again and writing poetry. Sometimes a poem like that is like a sip of a mountain spring. It is not complicated, but it is fun.

Royal Blue

Somedays,
the rain smells so sweet
Somedays,
the sun shines on golden wheat
Somedays,
the sky is royal blue
and,
Somedays,
I'm sure our love is true

Sometimes,
I fell like I'm runnin' free
Sometimes,
I laugh at destiny
Sometimes my mind is full of bliss
and,
Sometimes,
I get lost in your kiss

Now you might think
there's no such thing
as a love so wild and free
That true love
is just not that easy

Now you might say
that this love
just couldn't be true
But I say it happens
every now and then
to the lucky few

Someone,
is searching for my love
Someone,
needs my tender touch
Someone,
thinks this love is true
and,
Somehow,
I think that someone's you

Yes,

Somehow,

I pray you'll love me too

written by Jeff Couch, Early 1990's