Long Closer and closer Poems

Erin, for a girl who embodies Ireland
by Michael R. Burch

All that’s left of Ireland is her hair—
bright carrot—and her milkmaid-pallid skin,
her brilliant air of cavalier despair,
her train of children—some conceived in sin,
the others to avoid...

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Here We Shall Remain
by Tawfiq Zayyad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Like twenty impossibilities
in Lydda, Ramla and Galilee ...
here we shall remain.

Like brick walls braced against your chests;
lodged in your throats
like shards of glass
or prickly cactus...

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"Hey, you philosophysing Hindu. Give me a break, Buddy. I was just pulling your leg. [...] I want the rest of the story. Really, I mean it.” Theson said nothing. [...] “I can see you’re...

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Sweat is dribbling down my face, I am feeling hot
I can still hear the cracking sound swirling around 
And the night dancing to its own rhythm
The night suddenly fades in and the journey begin
That night...

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These 2 different versions are separated by nine years

Part 1

MUST BE SPRING

Small speckles of wild grass 
Looking like tiny green drops 
That had fallen to the earth 
Were the very first sign 

Waving in the...

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"Christmas in the Cathedral of the Forest Deep"




The silent heart is found 
embedded in the 
Cathedral of 
The Forest Deep

The lost jewel
shines in the dark
see the reflection of emerald eyes
endless hazel woods scried

On Christmas Eve
when...

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The Spirits of Culloden. 
This is like a pilgrimage, a try tae come every year,
Gather at the cairn, meet old friends, wipe away a tear.
Standin on that moor, that once with blood was sodden,
Paying respects...

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You're so far away from me and I suck trying to go slow when I know
I wanna snatch you up, bail you out, and take us to our new home
It's hard when I'm alone in...

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Paddy didn't want to go to his wife's family reunion. He told her that in the same nice way he had told her in years past so as to avoid other reunions over the many...

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Which paradise is not the elusive chimère?
	 	 
…how long does it take to live one life…learn the lessons of a lifetime…find the time to live…find the time to sort things out…know what you did...

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The forest had enjoyed a magical transformation.
Dusk had ushered in the firefly brigade.
They lit up the pond area like tiny LED lights.
I could see they were excitedly motioning to the faeries.
Although I do not speak...

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"A White Sheet of Paper."  Part1

Once upon a time I was a white sheet of paper
Pilled between hundreds on a shelf my neighbor 
For years was an old stapler.

I was full of life yet...

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Your Own Favorite Poem Contest
Sponsor: Carol Eastman

"GOOD BYE, MY LOVE" Part I
Written: December 14, 2015

After the snowfall but before the lily blossoms,
you were this woman who left by choice,
all natural decisions made from a place...

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Just whisper in my ear and tell me what you hear
Whisper in my ear when you have something to share
Don’t talk too loud when the parrots are around
Just whisper in my ears so that the...

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There are roads that seem inviting in the light of day
Only to cast its eerie shadows when the sun begins to go down
Engraving a revealing legend after the darkness has given way
To the blood curdling...

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Walking through the cornfields of  memory with glee reminiscing about self-journeys and the laws of love and care how life has provoked the mind to think of love as the guest of free earth...

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Driving with my best friend is the best. Music all the way up, singing like I'm in my own rock band, no worries, just free with life. Seeing an old abandoned house up the street.
 jenny...

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Sebastian looked at the moon, the source of his inspiration. When the Moon appeared in its silvery glory, he was profoundly moved to write. Sadly he could only write during a full moon. This was...

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ONE NIGHT SLEEPOVER
The embers of the fireplace glowed,
We were all alone in the forest 
spending a family vacation
 surrounded by big, shadowy trees 
and a river that never flowed.
At first, I acted as though 
I...

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When I was young, my father wrote poems, lovely poems, in Yiddish.
In one poem, he called me, his only son, his 'kadish'l, the one who would recite the Kaddish, the Prayer for the Deceased, for...

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Could this be, that this is of no common concern to our Creator, as to just what we all use that moves us? 

Just as long as we ask this "Power" to help us never...

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her, she sat out like no other...but her silhouette 
her voice, it was music to my ears like no other..but her silhouette 
her personality, it matched mine like no other...but her silhouette 
her resistance, it...

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Glowing days that were once red-cheeked and ripe with promise,
Are narrowing like tall candles in a church window,
Tapering from the golden stand and the sturdy base,
To the glorious flame and the ever fading light.
The final...

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Glowing days that were once red-cheeked and ripe with promise,
Are narrowing like tall candles in a church window,
Tapering from the golden stand and the sturdy base,
To the glorious flame and the ever fading light.
The final...

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I lost my train of thought
I'll give it my best shot,
Giving it the strength I got

These tears and frivolous fears
I've fought for a thousand years

I've dreamt these frightening nightmares
I've shattered many mirrors with splinters
Just to...

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