Long Gilded Poems

Various Heresies 3

Breakings
by Michael R. Burch

I did it out of pity.
I did it out of love.
I did it not to break the heart of a tender, wounded dove.

But gods without compassion
ordained: Frail things must break!
Now...

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Limericks III - Grab Bag

Being a peace activist, I once wrote a limerick in an attempt to stop needless wars:

Of Tetley’s and V-2's
(or "Why Not to Bomb the Brits")
by Michael R. Burch

The English are very...

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Beckoning
by Michael R. Burch 
 
Yesterday the wind whispered my name
while the blazing locks
of her rampant mane
lay heavy on mine.
And yesterday
I saw the way
the wind caressed tall pines
in forests laced by glinting streams
and thick with...

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Various Heresies 2

You
by Michael R. Burch

For thirty years You have not spoken to me;
I heard the dull hollow echo of silence
as though strange communion between us.

For thirty years You would not open to me;
You remained...

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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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Sonnets XC-XCVII

Artificial Smile
by Michael R. Burch

I’m waiting for my artificial teeth
to stretch belief, to hollow out the cob
of zealous righteousness, to grasp life’s stub
between clenched molars, and yank out the grief.

Mine must be art-official?zenlike Art?
a...

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The Dance of Salome
Herod bellowed out the night's festive orders..
"Bring the torches, bring the tables..
more wine, that we may rejoice,  
for tonight we revel in kindred friendship."
Herod strolled onto the terrace, nearly stumbled in...

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This happened last Fall, during Thanksgiving break.

Lisa and I were at the MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), with her family, at an exhibit of Art Deco sculpture. Lisa and I came out of a...

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Won’t you please take me back
To the brown couch at my Gramma’s house 
With the big gold-framed antique mirror over it
And hand me Grampa’s old transistor radio
Covered in leather with glorious knobs
That brought me the...

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I was touring the lovely countryside, once on a golden Saturday,
Lost within the raptures, of languid summertime's scenic display.

And I came into the vicinity, of a beautiful historic old home,
So being curious and interested, inside...

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While flying through a cloudy sky, a blank and thoughtless glance
Exposed to me this big old house, so brief, and quite by chance.

I’d seen enough to know that it was large, and very grand,
A place...

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...cont

She flew back to her nest that she so carefully tended and loved,
the angel close behind her.
“Why do you stay,” he said angrily.
“I have given you your wing.”  He stopped to think.
“I have offered...

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https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/the-convergence-of-the-twain/

The Convergence of the Twain
                              ...

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In glamor-light of sunset
a new crowd of cumulus clouds arrive
and revive a sepia sky-scene—
unworldly woolgatherers gather
spinning fantasy fluff into quixotic yarns
of debutantes dancing with honeymoon hunger;
their dewy eyes blurred by the sawdust of stardust

pseudo-princess-pleasure-seekers
—drama daring...

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Sometimes faith lives on the edge of a knife
as Sviastoslav the Rus sacker came to know 
The Khazar Khanate knew how to cut a slight
his gilded skull stole the show,
The Vatican went from a marsh...

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“The Evolution of a Broken Heart”



In thy hands, 
I gently placed it

lacking hesitation’s pleas and virtues
‘twas ne’er a time to be uncourageous
plucked somewhere from deep within
my honorable, clean gilded home where
pure intention sat regally spartan
upon...

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I was a solemn person by nature, so my demeanor was always dignified,
Like the somber moon of nighttide, that sees vaguest dreams magnified.

Oh, I enjoyed having a good time, only I showed it in different...

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I may as well concede the obvious. I was an incorrigible workaholic,
Who was always so driven to succeed, that working replaced all frolic.

I was the co-owner of a business, along with my lifelong best friend.
Together...

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THE DEATH OF A YOUNG KING . . .

Eight of the strongest and, bravest the of warriors; were collected in all
Each chosen for their strength; each of the same height, and, their gaul

Their task was...

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I was an irrepressible and happy young woman, and graceful ballet dancer,
Who lived for twirling on a world stage, as red berries are shrub laughter!

I had practiced for so many years, striving to become the...

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Though I'm ashamed to say it now, I never took conservation seriously,
Just living life as if nothing else mattered, full of wonted complacency.

I would hear intense talk of the climate, recycling and global warming,
But I...

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I sit here steeping in the History 
of Our Land, a class, my eyelids dense.
Our Flag hangs in the corner of the class
Red and White folds in deluge, licking the
framed portrait of our Thomas Jefferson,
our...

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In sun-scorched dunes, beside a weathered sentinel, 
a glint ensnared his weary gaze.
A tarnished lamp / grazed / its secrets unknown / 
a genie unbound, a muted haze.

Three worldly desires danced like tempting fruit, ambition's...

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Of all of the beautiful seasons, I like summertime the best.
As with blooms, greenery, and bird talk, it is richly blest.

When comes dazzlingly warm weather, life moves out of doors,
For the gardens we vacated in...

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The beautiful days were here again, as sunshine lit blue skies,
And I was happy with my work, which had seldom held surprise.

My job entailed overseeing, the raising of national monuments,
So that all could remember, a...

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