Long Ax Poems

Juvenilia: Early Poems X

These are early poems written in my teens and twenties.

Regret
by Michael R. Burch

Regret,
a bitter
ache to bear...

once starlight
languished
in your hair...

a shining there
as brief
as rare.

Regret,
a pain
I chose to bear...

unleash
the torrent
of your hair...

and show me
once...

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"Lizzie Borden took an axe,
gave her mother forty whacks,
when she saw what she had done,
gave her father forty-one,
she washed herself from a watered pail,
she claimed their lies and vicious tales,
she pled not guilty and moaned...

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7. Playing With Fire
My mom IS quite clear on the dangers of fire,
But if boy'S hooked on flame, then it'S hard to obey,
There'S a longing for “MATCH GUN” (6) that most boys acquire,
Small'S the chance...

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When I was a FreshPerson in a new higher school,
our English Literature class was delighted
to meet a new to our area Ms. Liska,
who was a beautiful teacher
both outside
and in,
and so we all loved her,
and knew...

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Once wars were fought with sticks and stones
to flog the flesh and batter bones
and conquer lands, defending thrones -
though gods provoke, not one atones. 

The multitude (by hordes beset
with battle-ax or bayonet)
braved blades, dyed red...

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The three enigmas of Turandot

The well of souls run deep in fabled lands of old.
Of China's ancient dynasty and the lost Great Tartary, 
a ballad of love and loss that must be told.

The Emperor's daughter,...

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                      I
 Remember when days were long
   and all de children do...

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They said that over the years I've killed ten people, and 
they said that with conviction as if it was a fact
I think in secrecy and with a conviction that it was more than that.

They...

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A tree in love

By the old road, before it meets a widened way
 in a nearby stands two trees close together
 we can see they are related 
yes, mother and daughter
The mother, although taller, leans...

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I logged on to Face Book and, when my memories came came up, I saw this poem that I wrote January 2, 2020. I am editing it for January 2, 2022 as I see it.

Oh...

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Lima describe how yours truly went Peru zing...

thru truckloads of his personal communiqués broadcast
(methinks quite some years ago) across world wide web,
but now still smarting from selfishness, I feel quite aghast.

Yes practically every word
needs be...

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"Yes, this is all still so amazing what impacts the soul truly; and in what ways." This fond endearment was in the Spring Time of our Love as I remember. A perfected shoo-in. 

This was...

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Naked trees standing tall
Wearing no clothes at all
Naked trees standing tall
Listening to the nasty brawl
Moonlight is shining brightly
With its trousers hanging haphazardly
Stars are peeping through  dark windows
looking at my dirty pillows 
and getting ready...

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1.
Once upon a very long time in the eleventh century B.C.
There was a king in, Athens, who ruled both land and sea

2.
To all was known as king Codrus*, a mighty warrior was he 
His enemies...

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Do plans take stock of what you’d give to be a better man,
and somehow you have trust it’s true that human dream’s a gift,
that life’s a blessing on bad days? The world sees Grace (or...

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Oh One Oh Two Two Oh Two Oh
By Franklin Price
01/02/2020

Oh one oh two two oh two oh
Alliteration as we go
I hope the twenties, will be fun
For this our century twenty-one

First twenty years are over now
We...

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(Inspired by the film: 'The Fall of the Roman Empire')

She was with him

   in the great gore of battle....

Where skulls legion were cracked

   and limbs hewn from sword,

   ax...

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Don't you see?  Little Lamb!  
What the greedy wolves have done... 
Tagged and bagged the followers, they stray but they can't run
Put them in the line-up so the biggest sheep can choose
Which ewe...

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Hello, it's me
I'm listening to Adele, numbing my courage to speak
Hello, it's me
I've been outside, knocking on your door since 3 with these uncomfortable boots upon my feet
Hello, can you hear me
I just want to...

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My trees are being rampaged by man's cruelty;
doesn't he feel empathy when they crumble down,
to be shipped on barns and trains for huge profits?
And while my darlings don't bleed like he does, they suffer by...

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egad, you possibly exclaim come december first two thousand and seven
   five decades sped by at the blink of an eye
days of adolescence, and infancy  so tender and mild seemed like heaven
...

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i.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse.
My wife and son lay silent, all tucked in their beds,
Visions of demons no longer danced in my...

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~ (~) "Amazing what-impacts the-soul; and-in what ways." (~) ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


~ (~) It-was in the-spring time-of our-love-as I remember, it was the greatest of the many 
gracious things, a life you pray always remains; something
the pain,...

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"Bring Me Wine,Myrrh and My Sweetheart Daughter Anabella,
My Little Anabella Loves To Listen To The Voice Of Salome,Her Lyre and Her 
Happy Serenade..
Tell My Scribes To Be Fast About Compiling The Exploits Of Their King...

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Somewhere in her white house 
There was a gray future spouse 
Looking for cheese 
Doing as he please 
Enchanting accent came from the mouth 
A drawing sound noting the south 
Filled with luring charm 
Made...

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