Long Armistice Poems

State of the Art (II)

These are my "ars poetica" poems about the art and craft of writing poetry. 



What the Poet Sees
by Michael R. Burch

What the poet sees,
he sees as a swimmer 
~~~~underwater~~~~
watching the shoreline...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch

Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the darkening...

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Still wrestling with impasse to contentment

Dispense sing with fidelity blithely agog
just me and mine dark shadow 
slinking along outer limits of 
the edge of night doth blog
passivity, the path 
of least resistance ohm my dog,
shocking...

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Wrestling with impasse to contentment

Dispense sing with fidelity blithely agog
just me and mine dark shadow 
slinking along the edge of night doth blog
passivity, the path of least resistance ohm my dog,
shocking voltage surges an emphatic...

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Ford's Theater, April 15th, 1865...
Petersen House, Washington, D.C.

I admit to own a passion
for the Civil War in general,
and the life and death of
the sixteenth president in particular
between a hard spot of whiskey
and draughts of arrack;
nonetheless...

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PERSONIFIED LIGHTED CANDLE:

Come on, I'm strong and edified.
No one can hold me in detention for getting them defied.
Compared to Cassius Clay; fiercely bonified.
A firmly personified lighted candle on a lampad. 
In the corners of every...

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PTSD

Like rabbit in the headlight caught
I want to move, i know I ought
But quicksand stuck, I’m petrified 
My body still, arms laid by side
Stretched out on mattress, naked, soaked
From sweat in which my body’s cloaked
My eyes...

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Regretting Cake Takes Two

Rachael looked sheepishly like a hawk in disguise claws clenched meticulous sharpened
yet hidden her sullen face pressing wrinkled no motion frosted lips the icing on the cake
It had meant to be such...

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A LETTER TO MOM 1918
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS


At Last Dear Mother, this Nightmare Will Cease
In a Few Short Hours There Will Be Lasting Peace
A  Full Armistice Will Go into Effect at Eleven
I Loathe These Soiled...

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Petersen House, Washington, D.C.  

(i admit to own a passion for the Civil War in general, 
and the life and death of 
the sixteenth president in particular).

between a hard spot of whiskey 
 ...

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Military maneuvers,
conducted by starship troopers,
make a Lot of king Chedorlaomer noise

Earhole space
penetrated by the Pentagon puffing pace ... 
stealth sound of smoke signals
Warning drumbeat signs 
of an incoming, deadly drone invasion

Attack helicopters hover
over tempting topography...

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It’s a highway nightmare, or it should be,
but no one’s afraid (too much)
and the road just thunders and hummmms
on and on and on and on
under that greedy summer sun.

All of their guns are cocked and...

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The year ends on saddest notes
of crying, dying babies in Palestine 
and obstructed efforts 
to throw them a lifeline 

They ought to have long halted
this ethnic cleansing 
of the indigenous inhabitants
Stop the cruel bombardment
of their...

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day and night Blattaria of various shapes and sizes 
scuttle with incandescent 
   after glow as flashing blur rises
to fill every quarter of mine cerebral core, when asleep pries
me lids awake with shell...

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WORLD WAR 1 ONE HUNDRED YEARS LATER 
(AMERICAN VERSION)
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS


Patriotic songs give us reason to cheer
Except when “over there” is over here
Living underground is no place to cherish
Cause in this place , you could...

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WORLD WAR 1 ONE HUNDRED YEARS LATER 
(AMERICAN VERSION)
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS


Patriotic songs give us reason to cheer
Except when “over there” is over here
Living underground is no place to cherish
Cause in this place , you could...

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GUM AND GUNFIRE
I SIT AT MY KITCHEN TABLE COMFORTABLY EATING A MANGO WITH OREO COOKIES
while a father fights off fearfulness fervently in a far off forest deep in Da Nang
Where even the trees have fangs
And...

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The Light from the Shadows

The light from the shadows of a thousand candles burning
The bright configuration of a lighthouse plainly warning
Plain sight considerations of a future that is forming 
Contrite observations of memories of the...

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Poems about Poets

Elemental
by Michael R. Burch

for and after Dylan Thomas

The poet delves earth’s detritus—hard toil—
for raw-edged nouns, barbed verbs, vowels’ lush bouquet;
each syllable his pen excretes—dense soil,
dark images impacted, rooted clay.

The poet sees the sea...

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Ideally yours truly prefers 
a she/her who never got prosecuted for a felon, 
yet who most deaf fin knit lee  
possesses sound blinding killer instincts
think miracle worker Anne Sullivan
signifying rendering phenomenal success 
with one...

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2/10/21
"Never Mattered"

Folks so hesitant and others far too eager
You either do or don't got a fever
Non or a true believer
In the ever after
Worlds being forever shattered
I always had to be a clever bastard
Got to get...

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Awakening From Pleasant Dreams...

No matter scant details recalled upon 
arising from slumber, this even though 
submerged into deep unconscious - (as 
ifmine being plunged bajillion miles 
subterranean catacombs) thoroughly 
saturated with inaccessible facets of my...

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I live in a small pueblo where every day or so

my neighbours sweep the pavement to keep

their side of the road clean and pick up the litter


And I like Beppo the Street Sweeper in Momo

by...

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Uncle soldier Sammie
is too flashback	    far Saigon 
The bad memory withdrawals 
are too ganja gun smoke strong
So he pumps up the blame volume,
saying who’s dirty napalm wrong

He’s got a shaky second and...

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One hundred years ago in 1921
The 15th of May a new charity begun
Amalgamating  charities of which there were  4
The Royal British Legion set up to aid those from the great war.

Earl Haig and Tom Lister...

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