Long At arm's length Poems

She looked at him concerned
"Oh my God, we forgot the buns!"
A barbeque happening
Guests arriving
Coals flaming
Food prepared
But nothing to put burgers on
For their housewarming

Hasty instructions and some cash
From his Lover and her roomies
Then he starts to...

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Poems about Poems (I)



What the Poet Sees
by Michael R. Burch

What the poet sees,
he sees as a swimmer
~~~underwater~~~
watching the shoreline blur
sees through his breath’s weightless bubbles...
Both worlds grow obscure.



Muse/Goddess
by Michael R. Burch

“What will you conceive in...

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No Mark
by Michael R. Burch

A wave implodes, 
impaled upon
impassive rocks...

this evening
the thunder of the sea
is a wild music filling my ear...

you are leaving
and the ungrieving
winds demur...

telling me
that nothing returns
as it was before...

here where you have...

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The State of the Art (I)
by Michael R. Burch

Has rhyme lost all its reason
and rhythm, renascence?
Are sonnets out of season
and poems but poor pretense?

Are poets lacking fire,
their words too trite and forced?
What happened to desire?
Has...

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Sonnets XVII-XXIV

Discrimination
by Michael R. Burch

The meter I had sought to find, perplexed,
was ripped from books of "verse" that read like prose.
I found it in sheet music, in long rows
of hologramic CDs, in sad wrecks
of long-forgotten...

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Book in hand, I strode the path
in awesome Autumn splendor.
The warmth of the sun caressing my cheek,
while the cool breeze gently tickled 
goose bumps across my warm skin.
All around me the crepe paper litter
piled brilliance...

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Race-Ism

What makes one man or woman better than another?
Should we think differently of those who adapted
to another environment and adapted another color?

If our differences are only skin deep as a tone
why do we unto our...

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She doesn’t remember what
she loved about me
so i hold her in my elbows
as if she needed someone to save her
and i hate that i’ve always believed in
things i couldn’t touch

tree house ladder i climbed you
with...

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It’s the same old routine, day after day
when you live with a person that’s sick.
You can’t tell a soul the secret you keep
 if so you’ll lose friends real quick.

 I am not speaking of...

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There is a limit I can be pushed to
If driven to it, could I kill ?
Last night I found out

As I was undressing
I felt I was being focused upon
The intruder's cold stares froze me in...

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(continued from part I)

And I would have said I love you
  And I could have held your hand
And I could have promised all the clichès
  About the moon and the stars and all...

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The curse of an ugly darling and her invisible shadow struggling for the warmth light and the ease in the dark night.

She is the lightening in the clouds; a distant flash followed by the sound...

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It was mid afternoon on a crisp early December day that I saw her. Like watching a movie she seemed to be unaware of my presence. Her gait was slow and meandering as she approached...

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"Man's Forsaken Earth"
~~~from the "Dig My Own Grave Series"~~ 
["Dig My Own Grave" is a series of writings in reflection of mental preparation... 
~~~Each scoop of dirt rids the mess where I'm to be finally...

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Yet, I don't think you are sure
How to find the intimacy that
You desire
But, are lacking
With the people with whom which
You choose to surround yourself
Despite the many people in your life
Who profess to love you
Who tell...

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Well, aren’t you a sight for sore EYES 
Off the top of my HEAD its been nearly two years

Yes ,I have been keeping busy
A FINGER in every pie that’s me
It has been a bit of...

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Searching for peace on earth. 
Searching here there and everywhere with no luck. 
Not being able to find peace anywhere. 
Not being able to find the tranquility that we are all seeking to be near....

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You could say you love me and I'll be like "so what"
I've been hurt so much that now my heart is locked
The key is gone, so it's going to stay like that
I'm numb to love...

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"Every struggle in my life has been a lesson
and made me stronger."
--Constance La France

I know that I am a far better man for my sorrow
The worst times of my life increased my strength
Through tears, I...

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Fighting demons
Bursting bubbles
He's in my head
Among the rubbles
Seeing that most things get done
He works at it from moon till sun
He tilts at windmills only he can see
Please meet.... Don Quixote

My affliction
or my soul
hearing voices
takes its...

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Are they with you?


If you wish to seek that feeling
wish to feel those chills all over 
your body
wish to reach that inner glow 
then please follow so 
if not, then you will never know
this place...

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The world is spinning so fast that time doesnt have a chance to render its mercy.
The uncertainty of truth is at arms length, what we can not observe or measure does not exsist. The construct...

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Try to associate people with a name
Do you know someone, know their face 
and not know their names?
I do that
I can go for years yeah knowing someone 
and not know their name
Is it a sign...

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can't point your finger of blame at me if its broken right
so would you like a broken finger or rib?
can't die from the joke your not telling that is killing you
would you like a broken...

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It happens over there,
a suburb, a state or half a world 
or more away from where I live 
in a quiet street with roses and hedges 
hanging over front fences 
with newly planted trees spaced
along...

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