Long Exposes Poems

Sonnet LXXXI-LXXXIX

Day, and Night
by Michael R. Burch

The moon exposes pockmarked scars of craters;
her visage, veiled by willows, palely looms.
And we who rise each day to grind a living,
dream each scented night of such perfumes
as drew...

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Come Down
by Michael R. Burch

for Harold Bloom

Come down, O, come down
from your high mountain tower.
How coldly the wind blows,
how late this chill hour ...

and I cannot wait
for a meteor shower
to show you the time
must be...

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What Good Are Our Tears?
by Michael R. Burch

What good are our tears?
They will not spare the dying their anguish.
What good is our concern
to a child sick of living, waiting to perish?

What good, the warm benevolence...

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THIS WORLD OF DEW

This world? 
Moonlit dew
flicked from a crane's bill.
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Seventy-one?
How long
can a dewdrop last? 
—Eihei Dogen Kigen, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Dewdrops beading grass-blades
die before...

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Regret
by Michael R. Burch

Regret,
a bitter
ache to bear . . .

once starlight
languished
in your hair . . .

a shining there
as brief
as rare.

Regret . . .
a pain
I chose to bear . . .

unleash
the torrent
of your hair . ....

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Love has a Southern flavor: honeydew,
ripe cantaloupe, the honeysuckle’s spout
we tilt to basking faces to breathe out
the ordinary, and inhale perfume ...

Love’s Dixieland-rambunctious: tangled vines,
wild clematis, the gold-brocaded leaves
that will not keep their order in...

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She entered the parking lot of my townhome
devastated I was after several home invasion 
my stalker an accomplice after the fact of arson 
murderer of eight Ciro Gargano the sheer reason 
the FBI approached me...

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The Lay of The Best Man - Part 4

I ask you this: Have you ever known a man to ‘buckle under stress’?
Or have you never seen a man have a ‘moment of madness’?
Have you not...

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I knew that  I had to go somewhere but I did not know where 
I knew I had to go somewhere that was not  very far from here
So I  put on my...

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Excuse me operator, 

I think I’ve been disconnected,

To a neurotic world that's seemed to lose its senses,

A ceaseless quest of life questions,

Where are all of these transcending fairytales and esoteric answers?

I am feeling like it’s...

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thermometer reads zero, a chilly breeze blows
  apple cores thrown, the blackbirds feed
  my multi-layered partner dons her wooly hat
  impatiently, she waits for me
  securing covid masks amidst my overcoat
...

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I often fail to notice
nuanced distinctions
between ethics of punishment,
retribution, on right hand
and boycott,
shunning revenge, on my left;

Between reigning down further abuse
and more quietly raining temporary neglect,
social 
economic
political distancing.

Punishment is a tool
for privileged narcissists,
win/lose competitors,
colonizers,
for fake-righteously...

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“Collection Kaki and school bag, collection Kaki and school bag”
These are the words echoing from the woman hustling on the street side. Mindless people passing by glancing at her and listening to her afternoon cry.

...

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A Mutual Enemy
By Reg Rhodes



My friend and I have a dangerous and mutual enemy. It is called alcohol, and 
it is killing her. 

Masquerading as her best friend, the alcohol is cunning.  Repeatedly, it...

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Mirror, mirror on the wall ~
don't let me fall for a narcissist's words
for fear I'll find myself tangled in the web
of silk threads cunningly spun to lure me in. 

You might take those words to...

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supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Ice cold mic hold 
A flow that’s so ferocious 
a Higher level focus
Exposes my neurosis
bogus amateurs are hopeless
Yoga poses lotus 
Possibly psychosis 
Or Musical symbiosis
intelligent my opus 
intellectual Hypnosis  
Rhythm in fluid motion
My style...

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“Let my heart be still a moment and let this mystery explore”  
                     ...

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The sun rises high over the tropical trees
White patchy clouds survey the blue sky,
Time drifts slowly into the clouded breeze
With the colors red, green and gold passing by.

Jamaica play a key role bringing out the...

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James Joyce:
In winding streets of Dublin, I did dwell,
found Ulyssean tales to weave and tell.
In this modern age, voices rise anew.
What themes thrive, Margaret, in works like you?

Margaret Atwood:
Ah, James, your stream, like a cerebral...

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In her soul she exposes naked memories and lust for life

          A rebel conceived in a flash of pure passion

      ...

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Have you ever been in love? It's terrible, isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable,
It opens your chest and unravels your heart, letting the darkness seep in
Through the cracks in your shell, and someone can...

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At the end of summer as the days light grows shorter,
I’ll pack up the last pains of trouble, and live every tranquil
Moment of splendors warmth that I can!
In the burnet rays of sunshine, I’ll walk...

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Written April 11, 2025, for Contest Sponsored by Edward Ibeh

Quote: 1/ “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ? Rumi

           2/ "Many...

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In the opaque distance transverses the lingering sound
Echoes beyond the darkness emits vibrations opposing the ground
The imposing clouds renders their shadows all around
In the metaphor of tranquility an endearment begins to come
The clouds are scattered...

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In the opaque distance transverses the lingering sound
Echoes beyond the darkness emits vibrations opposing the ground
The imposing clouds renders their shadows all around
In the metaphor of tranquility an endearment begins to come
The clouds are scattered...

Read More