Long Brined Poems

Juvenilia: Early Poems by Michael R. Burch

In the Whispering Night
by Michael R. Burch

In the whispering night, when the stars bend low
till the hills ignite to a shining flame,
when a shower of meteors streaks the sky
while...

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Migrants on the move from violence
their only possession
breath-space on a smuggler’s boat
secured with back-bent harvests 
in pretzel-bent systems
weight of crates of strawberries 
hoisted on hell-bent backs
just trying to reach Spanish-shores’-east 
from Moroccan beach with a...

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Diminishing virtues stripped away
From the flesh
By the fierce brined rods that freely 
Course thy hot crimson blood; 
Dry cracked lips attempting to
Fashion broken words of compliance
That so must needs to be spoken...
But...Ohhh, Meretrix...
My foolish and...

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Ring-bound journal waiting fond writes;
Feel warm thermal as words now cite.

Small square box lines guide and align;
Sexy thoughts brined in sensuous signs.

Word follows word in jazzy flow;
Strange message heard in cosmic show.

Feel and spice mix...

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Brined voids surround my already bounded vision, throwing me headlong into confusion and disarray. 

Hesitation in what may be the next correct course is what has landed me, and with much despair, in this current...

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Who shall purge the earth
O vernum purgatio
Love delayed its birth

Spring lit us with fires
Shooting messages like leaves
Winter wipes away

When the dross is gone
Nothing shall be left but dunes
Without memory

Mulch was once a man
Before the trees...

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Blackberry bushes barricade the background
of your immature stature.
Braided chestnut hair rests gently 
on weakly shoulders
as your hazel eyes beam a child's rippling wonder.
Bee-glazed berry juice permeates your smiling cheeks.
The taste streams alive as I gaze...

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No bash so far, beats the one in the jar
Emcee DJ Green spins for the jarstar 
No ill will to spill, just dancing on dill
When the lid comes off it’s an open bar!

So relish your...

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Tossed into the stormy ocean
when life struck another blow
brined, devoid of all emotion
lost child from Land of Goshen
drowning in the ebb and flow
dragged to depths by undertow

Blind eyes were opened to the past
of stains, blemishes...

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HE KNEADED MORE
SHE WAS THOUGHTFUL: THINKING
AND DELIVERING WHAT SHE SAID
WAS THE CHIVOLOGY OF MINCE
WORDS TO DECRIBE THE
SWEETNESS
THE INTISIPATION OF
BEING PLEASED
SUM WON, WHO LARD ME
SUM WON, WHO KNEAD ME
SUM WON : WHO CARES,
SHARE YOUR SWEETNES, 
IN...

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She bragged about
Enjoying the embarrassment
Of being rich
She spoke of
Opportunities
That were available
To her thru those
Trends that complimented
What she already knew
And wasn't nervous
About doing
Her strengths were
The Reas n she bragged.
Her weaknesses came from
Those fears she kept hidden
Treasures...

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She bragged about
Enjoying the embarrassment
Of being rich
She spoke of
Opportunities
That were available
To her thru those
Trends that complimented
What she already knew
And wasn't nervous
About doing
Her strengths were
The Reas n she bragged.
Her weaknesses came from
Those fears she kept hidden
Treasures...

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She bragged about
Enjoying the embarrassment
Of being rich
She spoke of
Opportunities
That were available
To her thru those
Trends that complimented
What she already knew
And wasn't nervous
About doing
Her strengths were
The Reas n she bragged.
Her weaknesses came from
Those fears she kept hidden
Treasures...

Read More

She bragged about
Enjoying the embarrassment
Of being rich
She spoke of
Opportunities
That were available
To her thru those
Trends that complimented
What she already knew
And wasn't nervous
About doing
Her strengths were
The Reas n she bragged.
Her weaknesses came from
Those fears she kept hidden
Treasures...

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Streetlight dander. Jawbone asphalt.
Blink razors carve her iris script.
Rib stars ovulate in feral grates,
mechanical tongue juts a bloodline breath.
Keystroke ruin writes in collapse,
a waveform lodged in sternum glass.
Lipsticked rodeo—a gash in faded denim
Banana-knuckled hands torch...

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Damp linens flung aside
sodden cushions
Flank by flank
She was damp
Nickel sack and bark rings
Verdant gaze meet hazel orbs
Ripe late April Northern Flatlands moisture
Slaughterhouse savory mist perfume
Slender dull rose covering on the pane
Cooling unit recirculating
Coral beams groom...

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Do I see what I see?
Or can the truth find me?
I sit here with fond cites,
Loiter and linger writes.


Do I know what I know?
Or can my tale now show?
Verse lines ooze as words rhyme,
Random and...

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My heart knows
How love feels,
A warm glow
Syncs clear thrill.


My soul dwells
On wise hint,
A touch tells
How love mints


My mind crafts
A clear lot,
Words I draft
Via strange thought.


My verse art
Tells of zest,
Soul and heart
Prompt mind fest.


My mood swings
Hurl...

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Sad sad story here
As melancholy spears...


Feel bereft of hope
As weary body scopes...


Why thus you may ask?
Broken dreary old tasks...


Sad sad story lines
How aged this old soul brined!


Feel the curl of time
Sending shivers and chimes...


Face the...

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