Best Overlong Poems

It was no propitious day it seemed
The misty rain overlong prevailed
A feeble sun, time to time had gleamed
Through vaporous  clouds on landscape veiled
I made my farewells to friends no more
And took to the streets now dark and damp
My life uncertain no pathway sure
I lingered...

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Just a quick look
First chapter of a book
First verse of a song
Can’t stay overlong

A 50-yard dash
Gone in a flash
Not right, not wrong
Can’t stay overlong

A heat seeking missile
God blows the whistle
God strikes the gong
Can’t stay overlong...

*Dedicated to my brother Ivan who lost his life on an...

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49 years past; a puppy was bought, picked up out of his pen on a pet shop floor;
he had honey brown eyes & an inquisitive way. He grew to be so loyal and true, how can I say, with just one blaze of white upon...

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Step softly over this silken knot;
Ease into this particular caress..
I have a story
Written slowly on cloth of gold..
The wrappings shimmer sightlessly
Around the nearest ornamental Diary.

And then, we wonder as we read
Who earns such gifts as nonchalonce..?
For effort lost we all expire
Into an alien heat
To find...

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Heat Lightening
by Michael R. Burch

Each night beneath the elms, we never knew
which lights beyond dark hills might stall, advance,
then lurch into strange headbeams tilted up
like searchlights seeking contact in the distance . . .

Quiescent unions . . . thoughts of bliss, of hope . ....

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As shadows lengthen
in the asphalt homeland
  The city winds down 
The once vibrant streets 
   are now a home for ghosts
Perhaps you feel that nightime 
  is "Where it's at"
Take heed of this warning
   which I give you 
Demons...

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From a young age he took to the roads,
never staying anywhere for long.
Always singing a cheerful song.
Yet most of the ladies seemed like toads.

Making choices at all crossroads
meeting here and there a tagalong.
Together they travel a furlong
parting when they came to byroads.

You could say that...

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Another day ends with insipid sun
One more uncertain season
Another month ebbs slowly invariably gone
One more uninteresting month another reason

Each bulb impressively pushing old soil up
So absented from every winter irritation 
The orchestrated plants unite drinking along nature’s everlasting cup,
Invigorated refreshed, outdoor rains unbidden now and...

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Translation

So something has happened and you are not quite sure
What it is your woman is thinking
Don’t be confused or fret overlong
You only need a translation.
Just look at the words without the distraction
The emotion of the moment
The words stripped bare of the soothing tones
The dress up...

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If I'm not allowed to fall, 
I can't learn to walk
Through peace with falling, 
I rise again in strong faith
When I climb a mountain, 
I see its lowest point
By peace with the lowest points,
all fears dissipate

Even while traveling, 
I long to stand still
Thanks to such...

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The Slug

The slug is one of God’s creatures.
In his home in the forest land
He keeps the ground cleared with his crunching.
That’s  a good thing and I understand.

But why does he come to my garden
To chew on my favorite plants?
The slug can be worse than...

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Such abject misery abounds right about now
Abandon hope all that enter here.
Abort plans of happiness I do implore
My own plans are failing I fear.

Our plans in the offing going all wrong again
Happiness is turning around to obsession
Now of course obsessions not in because it’s lame
I’m...

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These are modern English translations of ancient Egyptian Harper's songs. 

Harper's Song: Tomb of Djehutiemheb
translation by Michael R. Burch

The sky is opened for you,
the earth opened for you, 
for you the good path leads into the Necropolis.
You enter and exit like Re. 
You stride unhindered...

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I am the chaos
I am the song
I am the reverberation
portentous, specious
and tiresomely overlong
I am the creation
I am the spring
Deadening quiet trees
Gardening souls through corrupted space
I am the hours
I am the chill
Forfeiting drawn, crushed evenings
To fold an encouraging breath
Around my chaos
I am the solitude
I am the...

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Do you make sure to tap all the dirt from your spikes with your bat,
 even if it takes two full-length TV time-outs for you to do so?

Do you cross yourself once, twice, thrice,
 or perhaps fidget and fiddle with the letters on your uniform,
...

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