Long Affectionate Poems

I’m in distress
I can’t express
How I feel deep down inside
This feeling is a terrible tide
How do I impress
Everyone here in excess?
I’m just here to simply abide
By God’s Law, I don’t subside

My tears are diamonds in...

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The Original Sin: Rhyming Haiku!
 
Haiku
should never rhyme:
it’s a crime!
-Michael R. Burch
 
The herons stand,
sentry-like, at attention ...
rigid observers of some unknown command.
-Michael R. Burch
 
Late
fall;
all
the golden leaves turn black underfoot:
soot
-Michael R. Burch
 
Dry leaf...

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Zen Death Haiku

Brittle cicada shell,
little did I know
you were my life!
—Shuho, translation by Michael R. Burch

Returning
as it came,
this naked worm.
—Shidoken, translation by Michael R. Burch

As dew glistens
on a lotus leaf,
so too I soon must vanish.
—Shinsui,...

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The tears flowed and I still smiled,
My body and spirit and mind,
Were still in that state of residual bliss,
Soaking in your sweet smile,
And savoring the moonlit skin before me,
But my soul was being torn asunder,
And...

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THIS WORLD OF DEW

This world? 
Moonlit dew
flicked from a crane's bill.
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Seventy-one?
How long
can a dewdrop last? 
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Dewdrops beading grass-blades
die before...

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Deliberately recognizing the sun against the moonbeams
I see your eyes gleam and your happiness screams
Into my eager ears over the years and I’m tension-whelmed with the tears I shed
Hanging at the last thread, giving in...

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I guess I’m sorry I was leaving so soon
It came out of the blue,
It came out of the blue moon…blue moon…
I couldn’t find my left shoe

I could have been here 
For a little while, while,...

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My love was serpentine to the touch
I can't quite explain it...the love of mine
Had gone away from my sight and such
I can quiz my mind to say otherwise, my bittersweet sugar wine…

Why am I extremely...

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Attitude with latitude

originally written January 19th, 2019
and tension defines the dynamic

Valiant prince sip pulled effort
rebuffed, snubbed, thumbed
courtesy eldest daughter
uncontested vainglorious woke
mine genuine apology,
viz sincerely yours truly
psyche asper paternal overture
toward aforementioned offspring
smitten with opprobrium
figuratively smacked upside...

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In the intimate interlace of free will and fate, in the ultimate interplay of time and place, and with the consummate checkmate of my human dignity, all that is.. is over in the stormy, swarming...

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I am having that dream of dreams again
The one that wakes me up in the night
                   ...

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Date:   October  2045

Desharah was 16 years old today
October 5,  twenty- fourty five. She
Felt grown up  and alive. As she
Discussed with Amadeus her mother 
And Father. Amadeus Gave her an
Affectionate sloppy...

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Was I ever handsome in God’s eyes? When will I take…take…
When will I take flight?
I’m counting the days to see you fly so gracefully…in the aqua-blue sky
I can’t wait to see you take wing and...

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WE ARE BROTHERS


1.

Don’t look at me as though I am an alien or stranger,
Don’t let the dagger of antipathy fly out of your eyes,
           ...

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***Part 1 of the series, Not Focused (written entirely by J.W. Earnings)***

Resurrect my hushed, pleading voice from the dead
Give me Your water and nourish me with serenity 
Renew my rejoicing spirits, wholesome like bread 
Wandering...

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We welcome the dawn and the dawn’s sun
Surrounding myself with hope till it’s all gone
A new day ‘round here has just begun
Enduring another night – a battle of bewilderment, 
A war left unwon till dusk...

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I know it, I'm a bit more than broken
I wish I could be more in your face
instead, I hide behind nice
away there in a corner by myself
I want to be seen 
I want to be...

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Turning the maxim familiarity breeds contempt on it's head...
not just in time for Valentine's Day
but the remaining days of our lives
as the world turns
on all our children
the young and restless
now grown to womanhood

After being married
for...

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NA Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Ink Empress


                          Temporary Travellers
 
 ...

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Her cognition is sporadic
Longing for her to relax
And display calm tactics
Lay on my chest like it’s a hammock
When she isn't calm
I can't stand it
Cause behaviors like these in women
Can easily become habits
It won't happen to...

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Pre-chorus: Mmmm ohhhh ohhh 
The worst pain I've felt in my life was when I left your side
I'm slowly breaking down, so build me up with your confidence...your confidence
I fear that I might lose you,...

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Oh, I can faintly remember
Last years' frigid December

We were like burning embers,
Kindling our fires of kindness
We were swimming in errors
Don’t let hatred and angst harness
Inside you…
Yes, I do…
Love you unbearably and truly,
So don’t be such...

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Remorseless sweaty palms

despite being prescribed glycopyrrolate.

Though the angst riddled psyche of mine crafted youth, long since receded, ebbed in the past, infringement, impingement, and indecent wracking wrath of mental illness, that even as a middle...

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Lament of My Life Contest
Sponsor: Casarah Nance
 

~My Bereaving Eulogy~ 


Time seemed to pass so much faster than I expected,
All the love, loss, passion and things I have neglected.

How many times have I lost a...

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Somewhere in the night, in the fearless night
I do need Your help with Your might honestly
I need Your utmost delight right now tonight
To fight the grandest fight over flight in glee

PTSD is hard to manage...

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