Best Bas Relief Poems

A moment...
                              Only a moment, lost
          ...

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See
by Michael R. Burch

See how her hair has thinned: it doesn’t seem
like hair at all, but like the airy moult
of emus who outraced the wind and left
soft plumage in their wake. See how her eyes
are gentler now; see how each wrinkle laughs,
and deepens on itself,...

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These are my modern English translations of sonnets by the French poet Stephane Mallarme.

The Tomb of Edgar Poe
by Stéphane Mallarmé
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Transformed into himself by Death, at last,
the Bard unsheathed his Art’s recondite blade
to duel with dullards, blind & undismayed,
who’d never heard...

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I sat one evening in the park
upon a bench I thought my own
but as the dusk got down to dark,
I realized I was not alone

I hadn't seen from where he'd come
or got a strong look at his face
but he was there, green as a plumb
where...

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Countless generations lapsed since height of Greco-Roman mythology conceived, birthed and populated vast canopy of sky and expanse of terrestrial firmament, whereat obeisant propinquity quintessentially remains stalwart this day and age as guise dolls dote demonstrably come Valentine’s Day, when Cupid plucked from the quiver,...

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Two sides of the same coin – the good and bad;
the dark and light; the yin and yang combined.
My future self, the history I’ve had.
My soul - the fulcrum of my heart and mind.

My friends believe that I’m too sensitive –
too hurt by words. But...

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Lying in bed, the light of my computer bright
against the still images slowly changing on the silent TV across the room.
Despoiling the image,
nine seventeen, pm
stands out on the bottom of the screen.
My tired head resting from the day's turmoil, unthinking,
unfocused.
In front of me I find...

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is when he of the Mount of Olives
whom you believe keeps the night watch
catches you by surprise with a wash over your spirit
like Baptism, when he suddenly exists "de facto" 
as you are walking, just as you always do, on 
blood-red carpet toward a priest...

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County seat, of Mason County, Washington, highly rates
United States Westernmost city on Puget Sound e quates 
above ground sans tectonic plates
Population 9,834 per 2010 census 
end result from biological mates
maintains commission form of government 
drafted by mandates.

Shelton served by small steamboats greet
omprising Puget Sound Mosquito...

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Privilege
by Michael R. Burch

This poem is dedicated to Harvey Stanbrough, an ex-marine who has written eloquently about the horror and absurdity of war in "Lessons for a Barren Population."

No, I will never know
what you saw or what you felt,
thrust into the maw of Eternity,

watching the...

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As Joulupukki was talking, Seileach used his own magic to probe the tree,
     “Ah, very interesting,” was his response.  “Yes, by all means lead the way.”
The three of them made their way into the vestibule. And proceeded to the second...

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Nucleotidings
by Michael R. Burch

“We will walk taller!” said Gupta,
sorta abrupta,
hand-in-hand with his mom,
eyeing the A-bomb.

“Who needs a mahatma
in the aftermath of NAFTA?
Now, that was a disaster,”
cried glib Punjab.

“After Y2k,
time will spin out of control anyway,”
flamed Vijay.

“My family is relatively heavy,
too big even for a pig-barn...

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Late Summer sings with lazy voice.
     Autumn turns a new leaf.
Green becomes gold--her story told.
     Winter's echo in bas relief.
Golden leaves with red blush,
      Preen as if there's no rush.

October 24, 2021
Line...

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The clearest sky follows a warm morning rain
[Experience tells me this again and again]
     Sometimes bringing a brightly colored rainbow
     To remind me of God’s great promise, although
Shadows still drift lazily across the terrain.

I watch the birds...

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Whither thou goest?
Thy wither showest.
Ruddy in pigment,
but a wee figment.
In bas relief,
exceedingly brief.

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H/T to Maurice Rigoler's Our Puritan Mentality
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