Long Coerced Poems

Poems about Poems (I)



What the Poet Sees
by Michael R. Burch

What the poet sees,
he sees as a swimmer
~~~underwater~~~
watching the shoreline blur
sees through his breath’s weightless bubbles...
Both worlds grow obscure.



Muse/Goddess
by Michael R. Burch

“What will you conceive in...

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Salvation of a Formalist, an Ode to Entropy
by Michael R. Burch

Entropy?
God's universal decree
That I get to be
Disorderly?
Suddenly
My erstwhile boxed-in verse is free?
Wheeeeee!



Eternal Currents
by Michael R. Burch

How can I write and not be true
to the rhythm...

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The State of the Art (I)
by Michael R. Burch

Has rhyme lost all its reason
and rhythm, renascence?
Are sonnets out of season
and poems but poor pretense?

Are poets lacking fire,
their words too trite and forced?
What happened to desire?
Has...

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I know you invited the Brothers to side-line along,
but only if we are here to listen;
Don't speak.

Yet I may have credential for qualifying voice.
For I, like some of you,
know what it means to develop cooperative,
too...

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Sonnets XC-XCVII

Artificial Smile
by Michael R. Burch

I’m waiting for my artificial teeth
to stretch belief, to hollow out the cob
of zealous righteousness, to grasp life’s stub
between clenched molars, and yank out the grief.

Mine must be art-official?zenlike Art?
a...

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“Who...what are you?”  His gaze moved from Joulupukki to Lumi.  Lumi offered,
     “I am an elf of the Village Clan, and this is my companion Joulupukki.”
   ...

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For a few coins Melord, I'll tell a story of two that met in this place, 
and here you can take your rest, and leave sumpter to graze in the tall grass.

I payed the old...

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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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Neigh say being  corralled & cult shod 

"Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis"
translation = thus always I 
bring death to tyrants.”

Above the fray of twittering, 
squabbling, and madding crowds,
an arrogantly belligerent creature deified, 
yet vilified...

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Part of my soul severed by their ruthless oppression, demoralization and exploitation of a frightened and abandoned child.

Part of me drowning in detrimental sorrow as a 10 yr. old coerced by the evilness on the...

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That soft-spoken Sovereign commands a big stick, 
runs the world into ruins, once our bailiwick.
If asked why, He grins grimly, pale lips slightly pursed:
"Vindication? Straightforward: It's Me and Me First" 

(To mesmerise people He needed...

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https://youtu.be/c1gNm21YzfI


When last I visited India almost a decade ago
I recall riding on my brother's scooter 
as he drove me around town,
And I saw fully veiled Muslim women
half their faces veiled, masked in Niqab 
driving scooters,...

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SCANTILY-CLAD in the GARDEN of S W EDEN

Here I stand, all alone, scantily-clad in the garden of S W EDEN.
Wondering if the Original Garden still remains untilled and uneven.
Wondering how that Serpent knew of the...

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My life started with rain,
the steady stream of drops,
hitting the trees gently
and ending its descent to our world
on the wet pavement.
I am on the sidewalk, 
sheltered by a makeshift roof and 
a border of trees.
The...

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Unitarian Church returnee

After a hiatus of countless years
plus an additional 
almost three months 
since a major makeover,
(I experienced the magic
wrought courtesy
a bonafide big hearted 
beautician at Salon Nova
located in beautiful 
downtown Limerick, Pennsylvania

to render my...

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"Strange Vampires"

all those years 
ago, when conspiracies
flourished around 
did we or didn’t we go 
to the moon, when we
were once human,
proved to be lies,
whichever way 
the dark shadows 
conveyed it.

the truth 
came out much later,...

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THE BUFFALO
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS


THERE WAS A TIME I ROAMED THESE PLAINS
FAR BEYOND WHERE THE EYE CAN SEE
IF YOU LIVED ON THESE PLAINS 
YOU HAD TO DEPEND AND FOLLOW ME
IF YOU WANTED QUALITY MEAT TO EAT
GRASS...

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Our Most High and Most Holy GOD has thereby changed my Persian name of
Roxanne to a Hebrew name of Rachel.  Rachel was the favorite wife of Jacob,
and was of course, his first choice. ...

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Francis saw the lights and heard the approaching sound of the Harley.She was at the entrance when Suzanne and Arlis pulled up .He slumped behind Suzanne leaning upon her as she maneuvered the bike to...

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The grandeur of my life are elusive
Mine ain't melioration; it's oppression
My free life is cramped by chains of servitude
And shout out loud I mustn't 
Because even the power of my tongue is tied
Blank in me...

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When you said you didn’t love me anymore
I knew it wasn’t you speaking you were coerced 
everyone was intervening like they had done long before

its frozen in my mind I still hear everyone on the...

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STAR TREK REVIEW

Star Trek 2: Kirk has a grand battle with a villain from the original series.  Spock
dies saving the ship and his body is deposited on the Genesis Planet where an
experimental technology creates...

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Generations of the entire world.. Once abided by a force fed conditioning, 
An indoctrination so deep, so vast and yet so hidden.., 
Reveals a new rekindled conscious bliss, 
For our obligatory fair questioning, 
And so,...

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When the leader of a nation tells lies 
creating varied crises, chaos ensues.
Using more lies to change the narrative
indicates actions of an aberrant mind.

When the leader repeats untruths, ad infinitum,
the world around him becomes a...

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We were children that played, laughed, and cried together
ages that range different by years to decades
we all chattered or complained about each other
family gatherings brought us back together; fun continued
growing up throughout the years with...

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