Grab Bag Poems

Grab Bag Poems and Epigrams POEMS Less Heroic Couplets: Dark Cloud, Silver Lining, Dupes from “Love in the Time of the Coronavirus” by Michael R. Burch Every corona has a silver lining: I’m too far away to hear your whining, and despite my stormy demeanor, my hands have never been cleaner! The Difference by Michael R. Burch The chimneysweeps will weep for Blake, who wrote his poems for their dear sake. The critics clap, polite, for you. Another poem for poets, Whooo! LESS HEROIC COUPLETS Less Heroic Couplets: Gilded Silence by Michael R. Burch Golden silence reigned supreme in my nightmare and her dream. A Further Farewell to Dentistry by Michael R. Burch for and after Richard Moore Lately I've been eschewing ice chewing and my indentured dentist’s been boo-hooing. EPIGRAMS I will never grok picking a picky rule over a Poem! – Michael R. Burch Improve yourself by others' writings, attaining freely what they purchased at the expense of experience. — Socrates, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Heaven and hell seem unreasonable to me: the actions of men do not deserve such extremes. —Jorge Luis Borges, translation by Michael R. Burch Reality is neither probable nor likely. —Jorge Luis Borges, translation by Michael R. Burch Neither the leaf nor the tree laments karma.—Michael R. Burch TRANSLATIONS Catullus 1 ('cui dono lepidum novum libellum') loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch To whom do I dedicate this novel book polished drily with a pumice stone? To you, Cornelius, for you would look content, as if my scribblings took the cake, when in truth you alone unfolded Italian history in three scrolls, as learned as Jupiter in your labors. Therefore, this little book is yours, whatever it is, which, O patron Maiden, I pray will last more than my lifetime! PARODIES Rallying the Dupes by Michael R. Burch after Anaïs Vionet Houston, we have a problem: the virus is multiplying; meanwhile, our Demander-in-Chief keeps lying, lying, lying. Houston, we have a problem: the Astros are now the Nau(gh)ts, but Tweety will still pack the ’Dome untroubled by actual thoughts. Tr(end)y by Michael R. Burch Ain’t it funny how trendy becomes so dead-endy? Lava lamps and bell bottoms soon became “never bought ‘ems.” While that teenage tattoo soon’ll have wrinkles too. Teach me to love: to fly beyond sterile Mars to percolating Venus. —Michael R. Burch Keywords/Tags: Trump, Donald Trump, Houston, Dupes