Long Eke out Poems

June nineteenth one hundred and fifty nine years ago

The conclusion of the American Civil War commenced with the articles of surrender agreement of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, at Appomattox Court House,...

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My contingency measure in case of…götterdämmerung

A scenario unfolds
more abominable among
any previous warring factions,
his wicked weltanschauung
charred effigies futilely hung
against regime of brutality
considerably more unbearable
than infestation of fruit flies brung
about courtesy evil monster sprung
shortchanging restless and young.

Seconds...

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Acute advice for those* who would be King from the THIRUK-KURAL: Valiarithal - K475
[*like presidents, prime and chief ministers, dictators or even modern-day "emperors" under the guise of revolutionary leaders of oppressed peoples]

Note: In this...

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Privilege
by Michael R. Burch

This poem is dedicated to Harvey Stanbrough, an ex-marine who has written eloquently about the horror and absurdity of war in "Lessons for a Barren Population."

No, I will never know
what you saw...

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June nineteenth one hundred and fifty years ago

Juneteenth hint: three hundred
and sixty six days
after eighteen sixty four.

Major General Gordon Granger
led the Union Soldiers to Galveston, Texas,
to announce the end of the Civil war
and the freedom...

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Genealogy
                 —The beginning of a family tree—

For my great, great grandfather was a son of a slave,  
he...

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illanelle: Whose voice so insistent and so early to whine

(I have just found a poem I wrote three days before I was tossed up
and knocked down by a speeding car while I was mid-way on...

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March 10, 2019 - Daylight Saving Time Starts

The homey nimble storied wisdom of
Benjamin Franklin still
admired during hour time,
especially noteworthy, for slime
molds, the second Sunday of March,
when theft linkedin with

(Ides say) most innocuous crime
re: stealth of...

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Signature

 Append the seal on the opening glee
 Of performance agog with clapping drums,
 The cylindrical bell calling to spirituous mundi
 Screaming flew about in the air;
 Perched on ears
 And pecked on fertile hearts,
...

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When a precedent-busting pandemic is palling around the world 
when its concomitant panic and pain freak out
it is your fine figures that are unflinchingly unfurled
e'en as proctective gears barely eke out.

Isolation wards owe you diligence...

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A vagabond once in a colorful ‘kurta’ 
And a turban wound round his head
Came into my house, one afternoon
A snake charmer,
Carrying pretzel serpents
In a wicker basket, 
The slimy things coiled inside.

At our door step, he...

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Wandering And Loafing thither-stunned I knew,
Scorching sweat-and a grim creature view,
Aye troubled and loaded vista of misery,
Swirling with abjectness seeming weary,
 
Nor they stand upright neither they sit calm,
Where they where ,never in placid nay...

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Foremost apex bird leading the flock flight 
United to run the race and fight the fight 
Apache, Comanche, Samurai, knight
Choosing to keep victory in mind and sight
Tearing through the darkness till we behold light
March by...

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She wakes up before dawn. Mounts 
her cardbox cubicle on the pavement
at a street corner. It is chilly and windy.

Without delay she pours cooking oil 
into the aluminum container perched 
on a three-legged stand under...

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There you go again, you “Cyber Brat”!
There is “no such website”? What is that?

First you lead me through a wild web maze;
I Google, then succumb to your craze.

What happens if I hit “delete”?
Will my work...

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Silence morphs the call of falling dusk
Gathering under fiery skies, 
Stilled leaves in somber silence hang
Moping at the darkness that plies.

Dusty paths the home-bound cattle plod
Syrupy chirping of birds in flight, 
Smoke from the earthen...

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As we aspire a new day
We believe we are all like you all
And as you experince another day
The consequence will demand a teacher in you all.

As we move on with the time
We retrieve we were...

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A flea market called the outhouse market
is located just outside of York Town.
And an arrow sign nailed to an old tree
points you to the best flea market around.

Cause it's hidden behind some outhouses
folks need to...

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Somehow, all this grit makes me breathe out a wall of glass
A prison forming, where I've too much to say but am unable to be heard
Too tightly encased to generate the power needed to break...

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~ Papa ~


Dawn broke uneasy o'er damp, dreary lane
Fish markets open, the merchant a-bustle
Hawking his fresh catch to eke out a gain
Daily routine, one of stressed, ceaseless hustle
Perils of prepping each fish for display
Callouses, cuts...

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Nature Is Stubborn


See where its siblings are abundantly born
You will concede Nature is wisely stubborn;

On a parched desert that gives no reward
Cactus’s juicy, naked legs shoot upward.

Temperamental grass, like tresses or locks
Eke out a living...

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DPAA Hymn for Fallen Soldiers
by Michael R. Burch

Sound the awesome cannons.
Pin medals to each breast.
Attention, honor guard!
Give them a hero’s rest.

Recite their names to the heavens
Till the stars acknowledge their kin.
Then let the land they...

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