Long Aviv Poems

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...

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ALBERT EINSTEIN POEMS

These are "poems" I created from Albert Einstein quotes, changing a word here and there for the sake of meter and rhyme...



A question that sometimes drives me hazy: 
am I or are the...

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First they came for the Muslims

after Martin Niemoller

First they came for the Muslims
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Muslim.

Then they came for the homosexuals
and I did not speak out
because I was...

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World War II Poems and Holocaust Poems (I)

These are poems about World War II and the Holocaust, which is also called the Shoah in Hebrew. 



Epitaph for a Child of the Holocaust
by Michael R. Burch

I...

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THE JOURNEY OF THE MAGGI

Such a journey we had of it
traveling to welcome the new born King..
nay... journeying to receive the to be born new king
we were three of us the king, the beautiful princess...

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...Not many people could unite such a force,
it was Williamson who was the lynch-pin,
if he could be killed they all would splinter,
amongst the horde civil wars would begin.

This, it appeared, was the best option left,
even...

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I
The historical record shows many intimate connections between Arabs, Muslims, Hebrews and Jews, and Babylon. The nation we equate with Israel began as tribes in the deserts of Arabia. Some of them were allies, some...

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The slaughterer came to the market

Dancing and wielding a matchet

He sang songs of sorrow;

And wrote rhymes for his victims of tomorrow.

              ...

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For 75 years Israel has offered peace to her neighbors
   the Arab response, 'Never!' -- be Israel's leaders Likud or Labor

 From 1948 to 1967, before 'territories,' before 'occupation'
   when Israel...

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Blue-gray the barren mountains of Moab
at dusk . . . a tour bus winds its way
up to Jerusalem, City of God, from Tel Aviv.
How one feels, the emotion, is difficult to convey;
the very mold of...

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Those claiming their religious pride 
With snide invective speech, 
Insult all those who don't abide 
With what that pride might preach. 

These sideshow barkers blowin' wind, 
Who count the coin each night 
Are parasites who...

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MIDNIGHT FLIGHT TO TEL AVIV

                              ...

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Mogadishu ...
Black Hawk helicopter down
Caracas ...
Riots burning everything to the ground
New Orleans ...
Katrina tears has gotten many more drowned
Manila ...
Government death squads are roaming around

Global Dystopia
Earth frowns
Parents and children weeping,
sad mourning sounds
Everyday the sun comes...

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Hello Palestine, 
have you seen the headlines today:
400 US federal workers tendered their resignation over the war, seeking ceasefire.  And a Vietnam war veteran donated his pension to Palestine relief fund. Also at Brandeis...

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Vanilla froth of the sea milk shakes 
Rising and falling with my jumps, in motion with the rest of the crowd 
All shimmering with sunscreen and that shiny, slick glow of freedom

Droplets shaken off a...

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Suppose we ran it by a friendly Martian
(I’d say “by Martial”, but he wouldn’t be gentle).
You crave Armani, Hugo Boss, Versacci and
that Hilfiger who’s naff, naff.  Are you mental?

This myth of exclusivity’s juvenile
(I’d offer...

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Amor, you allude like a cloud
To something great
Your name, a promise of Jerusalem
Your exclusive mouth, like water
on my dry lips and deeply vacant chest…
 
I’ve never touched a cloud
Nor known the inevitable fog
Of falling into...

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save those tears for the solitude of night
alone in your cold little widow’s bed
when gates open to memories flowing

still shellshocked by the emptiness
of his love suddenly gone

taking comfort in knowing
how it went down all so...

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The sky over Tel Aviv, the citadel with the theater of the absurd!
The evacuations to bomb shelters continue; from this vantage, the
desolate Negev desert seems like Paradise.
In the world of real adventures, I suddenly beckon:...

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Romney & Obama phoning Tel Aviv,
s-
u-
c-
k-
i-
n-
g!!

I. first comes Iron Dome.
($70 million dollars MORE of
US taxpayers money going straight
into Israel’s military defense) 

II. then comes Jerusalem.
(Romney, down on his knees with
Netanyahu in his mouth, proclaims that
Jerusalem...

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Violence is a Gaza border constant
Israeli towns receive 
heavy rain
of missile shells
Man-made hell, Hezbollah air sent
Meanwhile, Mossad
infiltrate the tunnels,
unpacking C4 bundles to fiery rent

Refugee status
is a Palestinian forced Tel Aviv flee
Suicide vested persuasion
have innocent souls...

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Sin plagues the land!
Where men cry out from false pulpits
That we can get :back to the Garden"
And mongrelize ourselves into
Some kind of World Man,
Sin plagues the land.

Where honest, decent fellows
Are dragged off to lose
The no-win...

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They spied me in the sky, dropping bombs of love
on Ferguson, and bitchy women's  rooms; and rednecks' 
shooting range was next, the blooded boxing glove.

They spotted me in Tel-aviv and also in Tehran, collecting
Jewish...

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Welcome friends, time for an education
let's digest what Mark 9:23 is;
"...all's possible," even for your imagination
"...just believe," and you won't miss.

You see, Jesus told this young man
that all's possible if he can believe;
just keep your...

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In Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Kefar Chabad
     everywhere, little huts, though no sod
  Miniature tabernacles, laden with flowers
     fruits, vegetation, pretty decorations   

  The...

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