Long Begrudge Poems

Heat Lightening
by Michael R. Burch

Each night beneath the elms, we never knew
which lights beyond dark hills might stall, advance,
then lurch into strange headbeams tilted up
like searchlights seeking contact in the distance . . .

Quiescent unions...

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And a good morning to you.Today I have a lot to get done so will concentrate on telling you about Lorsie which was the name I called her. If I get my chores done we...

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she's not rock postal... 
she designed the plank... 
Knows how to avoid the edge... 

she doesn't need to talk to you, 
...but will listen with intent... 

she used to pull the wings 
off flies... 
something,...

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Nestled in verdant woods on a hilly terrain,
The sequestered chapel stood, tranquil was the place
With a calm drowning the hubbub around
With blooming plants adorning the encircling space

Gently moved to that well protected chapel
Tip toeing through...

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Ancient Greek and Roman Epigrams I

Wall, we're astonished that you haven't collapsed,
since you're holding up verses so prolapsed!
Ancient Roman graffiti, translation by Michael R. Burch

You begrudge men your virginity?
Why? To what purpose?
You will find no...

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Greed: In all things merciful the want and thirst for more and more never 
hesitating to build such lust for power devour those who stand in the way of 
expensive ivy towers, enchanted by diamonds...

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I became familiar with intriguing chow in the army mess,
Tho' I savored their chipped beef and gravy I must confess!
But some of their culinary efforts left in my mind some doubt,
That my wily recruiter didn't...

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I fell back into mediocrity, or rather
it fell back into me.

I longed for colossal waves to crash through me,
Inflate my veins,
Saturate my heart,
Those waves so gigantic that when they approach you aren’t sure
whether you dive...

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3.28 parsec out
We’re making an impromptu flight change
Windstar is gonna have to make 
				a low-grav burn and turn
towards the Big Rocky asteroid belt border
It’s a risky nav maneuver for sure,
but every space outlaw has faced...

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Don’t mind your habits, but they’ve made your mind.
Round the next corner, things will get better.
Until that one fell day when you do find
The credit’s come due and you’re the debtor.

You’ve hidden yourself away out...

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Everyone says no 
It is not to be so
Down that road you are not to go
For it will only be paved with pain and woe

Everyone seeming to know what's best
Rantings and ravings leaving no time...

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To wake each morning and begrudge
 the daylight  intruding  into that life..again.
To feel desolate that once more no prayers were answered,
despite frantic, blind pleadings for an unending sleep.
To know that again, the charade...

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When I think about my eyes…I am filled with adulation for like many of my body parts…they’re a marvel of creation.

Allowing me with just a turn of my head to see the world around me.
Opening...

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Lawyer Wainwright harrumphed and rose to his feet
To defend his client in front of the jury,
In what all thought would be an impossible feat,
But approached the jury in a manner unhurried.

He began, his eyes bright,...

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If they con the majority and all the world believes them 
and you are the minority that witnessed them deceiving 
they think that it justifies the error you believe in 
that is dismissed as your...

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Alas, I see the proposed federal budget has hit the press.
I suppose its loaded with the usual absurd largesse!
Gleeful solons elbowin' others at the trough gittin' their share,
At the same time promisin' us the budget...

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An army in green
fields,
ever vigilant, ever
silent, ever still.
Their honor ever
their shields,
falter, they never
will.

They've fought their
fight,
served how and when
they were needed.
They've earned their
reprieve from the
harsh, glaring
light,
but their post,
after all this time,
they still haven't
ceded.

Stones, shaped to
stand and...

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Alms! shouted the beggar, 
as the royal carriage went by,
But just then, an arrow flew past,  
piercing the kings eye,
Killing him instantly, 
it penetrated his brain,
Beggar is still mumbling,
“lucky sod felt no pain.”

Perception can...

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Little I ask, my wants are few,
I only wish a roof and home -
a simple one this man will do
   that I may call my own.
To within its walls live and age
with a...

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Howard ...
          I wish I'd known you
               But then ... maybe I...

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Desolation smoothed at the calming of the swell,
begrudgingly accepted solitude, vacationed in Hell,
nails are sore and broken from the scratching of the well,
strengths gained through weakness?  Only time can tell.

Inhalation of mist so that...

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An open mind is thoughtful,
It hears but does not judge.
Respecting all opinions,
Not one does it begrudge.

It never stands accusing,
Those times it disagrees.
It's range of understanding,
Is deeper than the seas.

It does not draw conclusions,
Whenever doubt remains.
It...

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The Fanatical Dog Lover

By Elton Camp

Dog ownership has much to commend
Fido can be a companion and friend

From his master, he will never swerve
Giving love even when it’s not deserved

This isn’t written, canines to condemn
But to...

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The parking lot I walk across each morning 
to enter my town’s park for a few laps
offers a stingy windfall of pocket change –

pennies, nickels, dimes, even quarters.
Some mornings they pay my coffee and pastry.
And...

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You've Been Hurt 

I know your heart’s been hurt
so many times before
I see it in your eyes
this pain comes from your core

You protect that softest place
that you harbor deep inside
encasing it in an armor
this tenderness...

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