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Best Poems Written by Paul Birch

Below are the all-time best Paul Birch poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Paul Birch Poem

The Fall

then here,
idle now to some
small thought
i wander though
this timeless court
 
and drift beyond
what i have known
and see the weight
of pastures sown
 
discover i must
unknowing why
who i am
beneath the sky
 
i close my eyes
and feel the pull
of timeless days
I know the rule.
 
down down
to the depth
discover i
what is left
 
of what began
a simple boy
innocent full
of joy
 
down down
does this end
as i wash
in its decent
 
down down
and still it goes
back to where
a spring was sown
 
a fear grips
the torn grey heart
as it descends
to the start
 
will it stop
as still i fall
clawing at this
living wall
 
down down
out of sight
the noisome wind
the fading light
 
faster still
as i fall
dropped down
inside
a pit-stone wall
 
and slowly now
i reach the depths
of mind and soul
of what is left
 
the air is damp
i breath in deep
uneven bottom
beneath my feet.
 
and here i am

Details | Paul Birch Poem

Valerie

The desperate eyes
 pools of water clean.
The river of her past
 I must travel upstream.

In a moment of time
 I am placed in a boat.
Oars are my hands
 I must not float.

I set my heart
 against the flow.
Through snares and branches
 ‘tis her I must know.

Round each bend
 I push my boat.
My arms are tired
 I must never float.

Sometimes raging
 through rapids I go.
Then tranquil and calm
 ‘tis her I must know.

The rushing sound
 a waterfall near.
I know this place
 I have seen this fear.

The torrent of water
 an impassable wall.
How did she survive?
 such a fall.

A waterfall
 I cannot ascend.
To shore I row
 ‘round the next bend.

I carry my boat
 through jungle deep.
Up up the
 mountain steep.

I reach the top
 to see a lake.
Still and calm
 without a wake.

There is current here
 a secret flow.
Pulling you back
 to what is below.

I strain my arms
 and push my boat.
Hands blistered and torn
 I start to float.

I know the fall
 that will come.
‘could she have known
 what could she have done?

I close my eyes
 and feel the fear.
But see the face
 that brought me here.

With longing now
 I strain my heart.
To see the eyes
 at the start.

I push I fight
 my life is spent.
Madness takes me
 my clothes are rent.

I wildly thrash
 and move my boat.
‘gainst the flow
 I will not float!

I break through
 the barrier unseen.
I am near
 I rest I dream.

Then I see
 my longing found
Where two black pools
 and love abound.

Details | Paul Birch Poem

The Anna Tree

Oh troubled girl
  who hides her face,
beneath the trouble
  she can’t erase.
 
She stands alone
  almost with distaste,
at the others
  her gender based.
 
I feel not  woman
  if that what woman be,
I am not a man
  I must be a tree.
 
A tree I am
  without a doubt,
these knots and twists
  in side me shout.
 
My skin is bark
  and hardend that
within, the sap
  can flow about.
 
Though graceful branches
  the wind will blow,
my feet seem fixed
  to the earth below.
 
A tree has no face
  to look upon,
That suits me fine
  my face is gone.
 
I need not hide
  from troubled tout,
a faceless tree
  a face without