Long Bram Poems

Written 3 September 2023 For
With Each Morning Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Martin Bram


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freedom day 
(april the 27th 1994)


far too many brave compatriots died

and

flooding rivers of tears were cried

far too many families ripped apart

with

daggers cutting into their heart

the pain is felt still deep today
on this glorious sun-splashed South...

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1.

On the 27th day of April in 
Nineteen Ninety-Four,

Freedom was won, at long last.

The battles were many, the foe 
brutal,

Apartheid tore our southern tip 
of the continent of Africa apart,

it’s notions of racial-superiority,

its religious fundamentalism,

its...

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DRACULA AND THE DINNER GUEST

Here lie all parts of my retelling of Dracula, originally written by Bram Stoker. I have never read the book but was drawn into the synopsis that included my favorite dinner,...

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When I was young, I would mock the raven,
Never dreaming her harsh call was a cry
Across the water to the castle of her brother
King Bram, the Raven, ruler of the British Isles.
Never did I dream...

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Mirror

In this mirror asks
Who stands before thee?

Recognize not her
She could not be me

Once before this reflection clear
Stood a maiden young and dear.

Hair flowing, glowing skin smooth and soft
Breasts full and supple  
Lips tender hot.

Desirous...

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Mirror

In this mirror asks
Who stands before thee?

Recognize not her
She could not be me

Once before this reflection clear
Stood a maiden young and dear.

Hair flowing, glowing skin smooth and soft
Breasts full and supple  
Lips tender hot.

Desirous...

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Morbid fascination (mine) as covid-19 pandemic...
foments rampant monopoly on bedlam

Wreaking ball (his stick) havoc (think ostensible
civil war scale not seen since Vietnam),
whereby microorganisms jamb
Homo sapiens immunity system
complements of gook
resembling green eggs and ham
necessitating Doctor Seuss

to...

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Caedmon’s Face
by Michael R. Burch

At the monastery of Whitby,
on a day when the sun sank through the sea,
and the gulls shrieked wildly, jubilant, free,

while the wind and Time blew all around,
I paced that dusk-enamored ground
and...

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At Cædmon’s Grave
At Caedmon's Grave
by Michael R. Burch

“Cædmon’s Hymn,” composed at the Monastery of Whitby (a North Yorkshire fishing village), is one of the oldest known poems written in the English language, dating back to...

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Caedmon's Hymn
by Michael R. Burch

At the monastery of Whitby,
on a day when the sun sank through the sea,
and the gulls shrieked wildly, jubilant, free,

while the wind and time blew all around,
I paced those dusk-enamored grounds
and...

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Kate and Bram, so in love or so she thought, but he was after Kate’s rich cousin. Laura, was just as greedy for Bram’s striking good looks. Does lightning strike twice for Bram? Will he...

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Whitby is a great little town 
Nearby Scarborough is too noisy by far
Here at Whitby. you can sit around
On the beach dreaming of castles afar

To Transylvania, to the castle of Bran
Where. I saw a vision...

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I am going to admit right up front
I am not a believer in this “New World Order”
In my opinion, it is a conspiracy theory,
Devised by those who are eager to confront,
Of it, frankly, I am...

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Colour me perfect in green white and gold, 
A tricolour heart from the young to the old,
A land of giants from the causeway to swift,
A tongue silver sharp each Irishman's gift,
Born with a rainbow in...

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(An Addingham poem)

‘There!  Where every curve
injects another memory.’

Analytic beauty that
nestled in verdant valley
allows the mind to review,
where archaic dry-stone walls
enhance the ancestral ghosts,
impeccable trees, nature’s
guardian to one’s heady days,
inscribed when lovers called.
Now historic brows...

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At the Borgo Pass I met a coach and horse,
And the villagers warned me not to go,
They were worried about a supernatural force,
But I had business in Transylvania, though.

The coach rumbled along the Carpathian mountain...

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It’s Halloween and Winnie the Witch
flies on her broomstick with O’Bramovitch
mid-flight puss acquires a nasty twitch
both his nostrils flare, he begins to itch
his pitiful me-ow rises to fever pitch
shame cat's aren't fitted with an on...

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He cuts the sun with his teeth; therefore, ashes were not at his feet.
He was born by day but his family lived by night.

This was his purpose because of his nocturnal life.
He had the life...

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If you look at ol’ Bram Stoker,
Irish writer of Dracula fame,
it can be quite hard to believe
that any remember his name.
At first just a civil servant,
then he managed a London stage,
doing books for Henry Irving,
a...

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Oh Kate
You never told me
It a grey feeling
Just a dismal hunch
Pretty Kate
Sweet Kate
Always there

Yes Kate
A gift for thee

There for Bram Flakes
There for schmear
There for ersatz food
Yes Kate

You taught me how
To enjoy ersatz food
Without grimacing

You were...

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The moon reflected on the sea,
A night more beautiful than day.
I wheezed and struggled up the steps
And looked out over Whitby Bay.

I saw the harbour far below,
And heard the splashing of the waves,
I turned around...

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Coffin is where this creepy fellow sleeps
Other people’s blood he likes to drink
Unique teeth – shiny pointed fangs
Naked necks are his tasty midnight snack
Transylvania is his homeland, its soil gives him strength

Darkness is his only...

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I'm Dracula and a creature of the night.
I suck people's blood when I bite.
Vampires don't die, I'll be the Prince of Darkness for eternity.
Getting a stake through my heart or being in sunlight are the...

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A female gymnast in Romania
Sweet girl's name is Nadia
Went to a castle passed Brasov
A legendary castle, not of Romanov

Elegant and so cozy
To stay is nonchalant and dozy
Fictional character hailed once
People's world quivered more than once

Nadia...

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