Long Curlicue Poems

These are early poems of mine, written as a high school student in the 10th grade. 

as Time walked by
by Michael R. Burch

yesterday i dreamed of us again,
when
the air, like honey,
trickled through cushioning grasses,
softly flowing,...

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About Bill Posters and Bill Greenwell

Words not to use in poems

In 1993, I (Bill Greenwell) went on a three-day workshop with the poet Peter Sansom, who co-edits The North, and runs the Smith/Doorstop imprint. He’s...

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                                  ...

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Did I say What I said You said

You said looking a little forlorn
						a little redundant
	the contradicting crosses in your eyelashes
   thrusting forth the brazen prophet in you for the day
   ...

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Some think they have a sense a humor                           ...

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14: If the soul meets death when Sattva prevails, then it goes to the pure regions of those who are seeking truth.
15: If a man meets death in a state of Rajas, he is reborn...

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Sgt. Bedlam of heavy artillery reporting sir
Bedlam I want you to pick the runt of the litter
and turn him into an agent assassin 
with the clandestine power of hypnotism
yes Generalissimo I am here to obey
decked...

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I watched you this morning.

When the cool of the air settled on the morning buds
leaving only the hint of moist stolen kisses
as golden rays slowly caressed the dew from the petals,

I watched you.

Your Cobalt beauty...

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OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS OF SISTER CECILIA

the best firecracker 
otherworldly seven hues
hiss, cackle, kaboom

Yes, dear ones, I want to own a pen that produces perfect penmanship, the curlicue calligraphy that Sister Cecilia would have hated. Each...

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Torrents of melancholy brine cascade from leaden skies;
Mirroring the salty streams of tears that seep from my sapphire eyes;

Folded limbs of bruised porcelain reach out to feel the patter of the rain;
Each stinging drop a...

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Cloaked in black she sat
with covered eyes from a broad rimmed hat.
Encircled in a wispy shade of cerise
that dripped to fade into the fleece.
Lines that linger on the chair
follow her finger like liquid air
as she...

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Somewhere far beyond this faux grin I wear
lies the fault…in all of its lined fashion
Emptiness lingering on a sifted thought,
reaching for anything that resembles what we had

It appears on a thin white stripe, as a...

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Villanelle: The fall from grace is the shame borne as lost face

The fall from grace is the shame borne as lost face
What were once cherished hopes serve only to nag
The first to fall papal pride...

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Cul-de-Sac 

Quick steps slow to hesitate
The sudden curve of a straight white line
Into the mists of detour
 Lined with haunting facades
  Of blurred addresses
   And faded street signs
Where echoes of curiosity bluster...

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EASYGOING
a simple
bit of
   gratitude
in
fragments 
of
  conversations
annotated
with
words
  &thoughts

curlicue
 murals
creep up
walls
of
everyday
simplicity

being
the
  essence
 of
abstraction
to open
 the gateway
 of daily life
domesticity
of
in the
many possibilities
attractions
 & complexities

to illustrate
 the radical
 pursued 
&
perceived
in the
spectrum
 of
a new
day
in
a  feel good
factor
with
 a
smile


NOTE:THIS IS AN OPEN(organic) FORM VERSE   using spaces&breaks without grammatical symbols ,the ' open' relies upon 'the one breath limitation' & so inherently requires the 'reader' (reciter) to input and responds thus making...

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Between you and me
a monkey
...................................................................................................................
Mom, in your shadow
Me, a scroll
...................................................................................................................
Love, a river on moon
Curlicue 
...................................................................................................................
Poet, your fiancée Lucy
Just married
..................................................................................................................
Poet, your last poem
Alzheimer's
..................................................................................................................
Naked girls on a beach
Golddust...

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It is not called bagatelle
But can be one!
An instant caress of her curlicue
Popping the bottle with a corkscrew
Objet d'art and its vestige
Touch then smell - the prestige.
Wink and smile
Murmur, as braid gets pulled
The neck is...

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WHAT GOD INTENDED

i grabbed the soupy ceramic
without a doubt
basic white, and i’m blank

i choose a skybound color
a lovely tone of blue
and paint the inside blue
and the outside too
several layers
that’s what they told me to do

i...

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The hunter is inside the camera.
Between the lens and its mirror,
Zen masters prowl
with high powered rifles.
The prey is sensed
before it takes shape,
otherwise you catch nothing.
You are in the zone.
Your mind a digital trigger
inside a plastic...

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