Long Door to door Poems

Oh my soul what hails you?
Oh my soul what awaits you?
Oh my soul why are you in despair?
Oh my soul I have not deserted you
Oh my soul I have something to share
Oh my soul I...

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These are peace poems, prayer poems, hymns and lullabies I have written for family, friends and the world over the years ...

Peace Prayer
by Michael R. Burch

for Jim Dunlap

Be calm.
Be still.
Be silent, content.

Be one with the...

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The Moon as a Metaphor for Your Mouth
by Michael R. Burch

When I was closest to love, it did not seem
real at all, but a thing of such tenuous sweetness
it might dissolve in my mouth
like a...

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The excitement mounted as we rummaged around in the attic looking through old steamer trunks for discarded clothes and props to make Halloween costumes. With an old suit and hat of Granddads, I became a...

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Back Door Side Door Front Door : Which door might a Confucian take
 
..................for René ETIEMBLE (Jan. 26, 1909 – Jan. 7, 2002)*

In homage - dedicated to the Chair Professor of Comparative Literature
.................at the prestigious...

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The dust had all but settled from the sultry morning air when Sergeant Kessler tapped me on the arm to wake me up.
“Gonna be a hot one,” he announced, “a chance o’ rain...and could get...

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as the PROPHETS of profits, WE lead and WE’re fair
while WE’re living the life of the poor BILLIONAIRE
– silver yachts, pearly castles, cash (plenty to spare) –
with the world on OUR backs... ah! the burdens...

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Each year as Christmas rolls around, as I buckle under the pressure and stress of shopping for gifts for people that already  have everything, I find myself remembering that Christmas of 1954.

Dad had joined...

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We are human being with a soul
We were taken from the North and South Pole
And left in a basket at the flagpole
If all the relics in history were unfold
You would discover that the real threshold
Is...

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Listen the drums are rumbling and the pots are bubbling
Listen, the drums are rolling and pretty girls are dancing
Listen the drums are speaking and my heart is singing
Listen the drums are beating and I am...

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No Halloween Candy

I can't get no Halloween candy.
I can't get no Halloween candy.
But I try, and I try, and I try, and I try.
I can't get no.  I can't get no.

Well I'm walking door...

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Haven’t you had enough blood from the beginning of time?
Haven’t you taken enough lives before they should have died?
All around I can hear their cry 
They want to escape from the under world
You spill blood...

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I woke up this morning feeling vigorous and strong 
Even though I had lost some sleep, I could still feel my heartbeat
I took a shower, and got dressed and stared at the morning sky
I gazed...

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Here I am sitting in the chair
Staring at the ceiling above my head
Contemplating life's meaning  and testing my deep feelings
If a pin drops I can hear the sound
If a dog  moans I can...

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"I Would Be....WOOD"


   "Knock On Me!" or more correct "Knock On WOOD!" You've probably said that and rapped your knuckles against me while saying it! I know you've knocked on me many times...

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I can feel this thread running all over me, it’s like I am connected to the deep blue sea and the current is pulling me into the deep dragging me towards an unplanned destiny; the...

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Ramapo, New York, a small town
Was rural ... to say the least
Where simple folks lived a simple life
And most residents could rest in peace 

But, tonight was prom night and
The summer evening was unusually cool
As...

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See them coming they are possessed 
See them coming they are obsessed 
See them coming they are undressed
Their blood filled eyes stares at us in disgust 
And big guns protrudes from their sides, they are...

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A couple weeks ago today, while I was sleeping in,
And lay so very unprepared to have the day begin,

I thought I heard the doorbell ring and slightly twitched my head…
I hoped I had imagined it,...

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Fall tumbles relentlessly on our door steps
young winter birds inducing provoking sounds scamper in trees 
Watching winter crawling slowly under our feet.

The night rain wet the ground with sadness 
washing  away the environmental stench
purging...

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People are wandering around the town
With their heads pointing to the clouds
People are wandering about the town
Looking like fearful clowns
Nasty men with hard backs 
Are walking about the park 
Harassing the women in the boiling...

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The silent night walks like a freighted man in boots, and penetrates the head of the living dead while they lay down in silence to sleep. Not a sound could be heard except for the...

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Lapsed contra dancer rediscovers his happy place

I tip figurative hat to the late Cathy Robertson, longtime (lifetime) Thomas Paine Unitarian Church member, who unwittingly and quite casually made mention of contra dancing, which inopportunely, inextricably,...

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Nothing to hide*, Translation of a poem: “A coeur ouvert” by (René) Etiemble

		For Jeannine

(Later in life, Etiemble suppressed his first name, ostensibly on account of the accented “é”
 ending his first name and preceding the...

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Dear Father Our God Our Saviour full of grace and mercy and our intimate 
Friend Jesus Christ  We humbly ask for a granted mercy completed plan of destiny inheritance. Dear God of Glory the...

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