Long Dilettantes Poems

State of the Art (III)

These are my "ars poetica" poems: the ones about the art and craft of writing poetry in a modern world that doesn't always recognize the artists or their work. 



Come Down
by...

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Poems about Poems IV

The Toast
by Michael R. Burch

For longings warmed by tepid suns
(brief lusts that animated clay),
for passions wilted at the bud
and skies grown desolate and gray,
for stars that fell from tinseled heights
and mountains bleak...

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My mother always took the bus.  I never understood why.  We had a car, but she insisted on taking the bus uptown.  I think she did it because father would not let...

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PROFESSOR POETS

These are poems about professor poets and other “intellectuals” who miss the main point of poetry, which is to connect with readers via pleasing sounds and the communication of emotion as well as meaning.



Professor...

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not in the heart again
for chrissakes it's like Swiss cheese
decoffinated please I'm a yet ambulatory zombie
off his medication as usual
alternatives to logic 101 with Prof. Spike
far too much work for a dead end
saw his only...

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An Obscenity Trial
by Michael R. Burch
 
The defendant was a poet held in many iron restraints
against whom several critics cited numerous complaints.
They accused him of trying to reach the "common crowd,"
and they said his poems...

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"Tease for Two"



“Ein bisschen Zucker 
mit Ihrer Sahne, Sir?“

German accent 
smoky toned 
she purred

Periwinkles suavely winked, 
then played with his -

cufflinks

“Not now Schvee Tart” 
he said holding his attache tight 
looking across the room
grinning Lupine...

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"Marching Band"
Dapper dilettantes take over one hundred yards 
Showing their feathers like a cockatoo on pointy shakos 
Displaying their talents on grass they are anything but green 

Ready to give resplendent resonance through beasts of...

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cheer the hell up if you can
nothing cheats the hangman like enthusiasm
since my next act will be
to answer all your questions
as your tenured professor of dyslexia
throw down your eye wear
blurry is the truth
although your blur...

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beware the enemy who can
fart your national anthem
it was a mob scene at the microphone
kill him kill him they laughed
nobody wanted to miss the show
a perfect blend of pandemonium and bliss
sound bites took their ears...

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They came for the Gypsies, 
The time tribe Romana's grand Gypsy trust 
To manifest in feasts of fear, horrific best, 
The Crucifixtion as a culture test 
Is sycophanted phallic prophecies; 
Mixing spells where river's dwell...

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Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to beautiful Zurich Switzerland and the First Annual Poetry Soup Convention. Welcome poets, linguists, scribes, metrists and rhymers. Welcome poets from Canada, the UK, U.S.A., Australia and many...

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The dance of the dilettantes hasn't many steps.
It isn't meant to be remembered, nor to cause upset;
it's simply meant to get us through, like breakfast spent in bed.
It gives us comfort just to know our...

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Animal Farm

The youth of today; the ‘avant-garde’ of new lingo, lost words
‘Ennui’ of wisdom, with a blatant ‘cacophony’ of disrespect
‘Carte blanche’ entitlements pave a highway to absurdity
What once was ‘anomaly’, has become, a ‘bona fide’...

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Catharsis

You’re my favorite artist
With your magical touch
A petrified leaf becomes a lustrous forest
You speak words that cannot be fathomed by shallow linguists

Your works are filled with overwhelming emotions
Poured out on a plain and boring piece...

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A jackdaw is stealing
my tote bag of unused words,
a rodentlike kibitzer, a pecking dictator
of the worthiness of sounds.
If I run out of bullets now
he will take over my range,
blue-pencil my graffiti,
he will denounce me
as a...

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What was created to expose,
  now a fortress meant to hide

Bastions of higher learning,
  masking havens safe for lies

Where discourse once was treasured,
  the ivy droops and sighs

With comfort their true measure,
...

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What was created to expose
  is now a fortress just to hide

A bastion of higher learning
  within a haven safe for lies

Where discourse once was treasured
  the ivy droops and sighs

With comfort...

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