Long Entreats Poems

Merciles Beaute ("Merciless Beauty")
by Geoffrey Chaucer
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Your eyes slay me suddenly;
their beauty I cannot sustain,
they wound me so, through my heart keen.

Unless your words heal me hastily,
my heart's wound will remain...

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Let me tell you a story, a story of woe:
a tale of a pup who got lost in the snow.
Daughter Laura, our eldest, came up to see us,
drove home in a Jeep (to rhyme, insert...

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Pigeons flutter in the park
eating refuse from the grass.
Noon comes; the hours pass.
Leaves fall; the sky grows dark.
Silence reigns throughout the park.
A crumpled headline, forgotten toy --
and then, -- and then a far-off bark.
In the...

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The birds of pray are on their way, in every beak the Word

(of ptomaine tomes by gnarly gnomes) whose meaning is obscured;

they roost aloof on every roof, obscene but always herd,

to tell the tale of...

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You give me a lift
to those heights I once dreamt of.
You support me in your warm embrace
and the heat comes through the silk and lace.
I cling to you with all my might.
We pass unseen from...

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You give me a lift
to those heights I once dreamt of.
You support me in your warm embrace
and the heat comes through the silk and lace.
I cling to you with all my might.
We pass unseen from...

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Now that December has descended
with it's roots of ice and skies of snow
our timber fortress is a sanctuary of ethnographic enlightenment
and embassy that entreats the exchange of craftsmanship, 
lately I have been preoccupied with my...

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There was a tax collector chief
Who lived in storied Jericho.
He gave the people scant relief; 
His stature and regard were low.

Zacchaeus was his given name;
His job: to keep the Roman purse.
His title brought him little...

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Life, Love, And Verses Born Of True Poetic Heart

Waken to Life, its joys that bring truest living
 amidst this world and its pitiless deceiving,
Ample the blessings cast forth by divine givings
 true is the gratitude...

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The thrust of salvation's revelation;
Straight from the buckle of the Bible Belt -
Crusading on a plan of what they felt:
"The World for Christ in One Generation."

Their causes - all so specious and remote:
Ban dance and...

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There is comfort in the arms of the Good Shepherd, His rod secures me like covering wings, but I'm not compelled to stay there, for the gift of choice gives me the strings,
As lovingly He...

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I know in writing about The Quote Wars, no one probably knows or cares what the heck I'm writing about, but that's Ok......for some mysterious phantom force entreats me....beseeches me....and compels me to write these...

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A EBB TRIBUTE
weeping voices
                  agony
in anguish
      unmoved 
the
sensual soul is
   ...

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Rose petals fell before us 
Hands slid into each

Evening’s intermittent rays 
Twinkled out a desperate reach.

We took those steps together
Blessed by day and holy night

With gratitude for measured feelings;
Endless love or injured flight

Fortunate ones allowed...

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Teal entreats and cuddles the appellant granted gifts
a third spun away and sprung a new course to breathe
a new blend of Flora life amidst the Fungi and Fauna breeds. 

Soon it'll cast a shade of...

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A journey together,
Storms to weather;
Companions unlikely joined
Despite their task
     on this path which many ask,
“Why the battle?”
“Why the pain?”
“Does not God care?”

Martyr whispers gently,
“Surrender to Love’s grander plan.”
Warrior shouts the battle...

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When languishing in distress
enveloped around guilt’s doom
desperately pleading for forgiveness…
my hopeless soul wails for faith empowerment---
---trusting God to uphold me with His grace, along pardon’s bliss.

When forsaken midst dearth
seeking for relief midst financial crises
mournful over...

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Mighty Ocean,

      In your shoal I stand, peering over the swells of your surface.
Your gentle waves roll upon the sand, soothing and massaging
my feet with your deft fingers...ebbing and flowing...

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In a silent prayer…
	My heart pleads
For the grace, the stirring
	Of His presence
His charisma, His spirit
	Falling across my soul
Reflecting His precious love

In a silent prayer…
	My mind contends
With His cherished spirit
	Please bring peace
Joy, hope and wisdom
	Rain down...

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I stand upon this aging wooden bridge
peering into depths of the swollen stream
a fingerling flowing to waters of the sea
grief is rhythmic like the beat of my heart
tears ebbing in rise with the morning tide
each...

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Who Is Knocking At My Door

Who is knocking at my door?
It is 4:00 am when sounds come harsh
Imagination wonders on the soulless bog
No one for miles can hear the tapping noises
My covers can't protect me...

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The gate to Monet’s Japanese garden’s open,
beckoning, and green as Giverny’s winter wheat,
but there’s no time to glimpse the pond’s lilies within.
 
Monet’s Rose Cottage-locked to all but the wrens-
though curved trellises invite, and a...

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Slide ever so slowly O Life,
I’ve many a debt to meet still,
Many an ache, pain to treat still,
To do some duties discreet still.

Some were upset in daily drill,
Some lost life's bet, some feeling ill,
Those upset,...

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Heaven’s Gate entreats me passage, letting me enter unto the road.
Should I be here? That’s what I’m asking, as I let free my burdening load.

Heaven’s Gate, the place of my longing. Though, I may feel...

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I rose from my couch unhappy, as one of the dead, 
Repose reluctant to join me, 
My window shades enticed, to display a truth
So unnatural to refuse, I did abrade myself to look
There! 
A black...

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