Long Frowsy Poems

Poems about Poems (II)

Kin
by Michael R. Burch

for Richard Moore

1.
Shrill gulls,
how like my thoughts
you, struggling, rise
to distant bliss?
the weightless blue of skies
that are not blue
in any atmosphere,
but closest here...

2.
You seek an air
so clear,
so rarified
the effort leaves...

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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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beMUSEd
by Michael R. Burch

Perhaps at three
you'll come to tea,
to have a cuppa here?

You'll just stop in
to sip dry gin?
I only have a beer.

To name the "greats":
Pope, Dryden, mates?
The whole world knows their names.

Discuss the "songs"
of...

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Poems about Poets IV



The Princess and the Pauper
by Michael R. Burch

for June Kraeft

Here was a woman bright, intent on life,
who did not flinch from Death, but caught his eye
and drew him, powerless, into her spell
of...

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There are three of them, Cinderella siblings:
shapely, deciduous, their leafy green
darkness undulating in the specter wind, 
its silent snare drum emulating heartbeats 
in syncopated symmetry. "Take us, Take us, 
Don't stop!" say the sisters, moving...

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Standing at back of cafeteria during youth basketball awards ceremony
This is my community.
"What you do may not seem important but it is very important that you
      do it."

The men and...

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Boredom is not arousing, so I sleep.
Beware the infected crops I reap:
They make many a good man drowsy.
Watch for the ladies in the frowsy
Attire, who look to weasel a few
Greenbacks out of your laundered, new,
And...

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I wake up with her,
check myself,
eyes creaking like blind stars.
She’s strange, she’s yesterday,
I remember us the week before;
wonder if tomorrow
will fade us both out completely.

We don’t get to know them -
the wives I mean.
Living together...

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Like a frowsy, dowdy
old housewife
I sit largely
unnoticed
stout and squat
a sort of kitchen sentry
rarely appreciated
until some minor crisis-

Cough, sniffle, stomachache
a particularly bad day
or fancy party...
then things heat up
quickly for me!

This was one of those
fancy party days
no...

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I wake up with her,
check myself,
eyes creaking like blind stars.
She’s strange, she’s yesterday,
I remember us the week before;
wonder if tomorrow
will fade us both out completely.

We don’t get to know them -
the wives I mean.
Living together...

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Tuning William Blake's Whistle
by Michael R. Burch

a musical prophecy, after William Blake

I.

Many a sun
and many a moon
I walked the earth
and whistled a tune.

I did not whistle
as I worked:
the whistle was my work.
I shirked

nothing I saw
and...

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Our body is not our own
But temporary wears
That will surely tear
Life full of horrible bled
So ignite your heavenly care
Our body is not our own

No matter how we fare
On this earthly affairs
All turns sudden despairs
So pays...

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Orpheus
by Michael R. Burch
 
after William Blake

I.
Many a sun
and many a moon
I walked the earth
and whistled a tune.
 
I did not whistle
as I worked:
the whistle was my work.
I shirked
 
nothing I saw
and made a rhyme
to...

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All England, blinking nervously, is out! 
A little mild spell, much to our surprise, 
has brightened frowsy February skies. 
We sniff the air with nostrils schooled in doubt. 

Baffled by balm, the fruit trees have...

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