Long Glade Poems

Vacuum
by Michael R. Burch

Over hushed quadrants
forever landlocked in snow,
time’s senseless winds blow...

leaving odd relics of lives half-revealed,
if still mostly concealed...
such are the things we are unable to know

that once intrigued us so.

Come then, let us...

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At Tintagel
by Michael R. Burch

That night, 
at Tintagel, 
there was darkness such as man had never seen...
darkness and treachery, 
and the unholy thundering of the sea...

In his arms, 
who is to say how much she...

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Stars fall under failing skies...stars fall...stars fall...
And sadly...i start to drive.
Through the unremarkable village with its tall 
Georgian Bay window panes, lightless,
devoid of visages; outwardly staring back at my 
Abject countenance with detached contempt and...

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Starlight and Moonlight II

These are poems about starlight and moonlight, moons and stars, dreams and visions, illuminations and intimations …




Deliver Us...
by Michael R. Burch 

for my mother, Christine Ena Burch

The night is dark and scary—
under...

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I am an Outlander
Who lives on a high hill
Overlooking a man-made lake
That once was a rapidly rushing river
Along whose banks the Ozarks Bluff Dwellers and the Osage and then Delaware
Hunted, fished, and created shelter
For their...

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The Pictish Faeries
by Michael R. Burch

Smaller and darker
than their closest kin,
the faeries learned only too well
never to dwell
close to the villages of larger men. 

Only to dance in the starlight
when the moon was full
and men...

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I was relaxing in my sunroom, one very peaceful afternoon,
Enjoying the fables of Aesop, and all the flowers abloom.

The view from the many windows, was gold sunshiny delight,
With blossoms and rich greenery, and many birds...

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FIRST MOVEMENT (Minor Key)

Times such as these test body soul and mind
So should our thoughts be pain and dark confined
Or loosed to concentrate on brighter things
Like furry puppies, flowers and girls on swings

In this bright...

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Temporal incarnation of Aphrodite...

induces idyllic reverie
delight evoking similar surge,
when skirting, and eluding 
fidelity defining the marital law
on par with courting in flagrante delicto.

After reading about 
Greek goddess of love
fancy notion woke whereof
warmth suffused me
snug as...

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*There are only two damsels in this tale; all variations were simply for ease of writing.

Once Kate and Isabella went
To see the pretty fields of Gwent
And traipse through forest shade
They packed a picnic lunch for...

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Through shadowed trails beneath the moon’s cold stare.
     Its Amber gaze: a burden hard to bear.
This feathered prize found peace in my gut
     No slumber dreamt; no...

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LETTER TO A SOLDIER
A Trilogy


I.  SONGS OF LOVE

Love walked with me
In the crisp fall air
In a shower of gold and red.
Love showed me the print
Of a doe’s foot
And where she made her bed.

Love sat...

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Along the road called forestry, the silver ash weeps over me
as I meander 'round the dell and glade.
Pass scars of sand pits long disused, where gullies, washes speak ‘abused!’
Reclamation offers now a new facade.

Need for...

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~~~
Dappled grey horses
sweat crusted and weary
hooves drifting dust
lift a day
passing dreary
The harness bells faded
reigned in at the rill
a cool running brook
near the base of our hill
~
My eyes
I'm a lad
scant older than four
brought visions to mind
full...

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Apple of my eye darling daughter numero deux gifted me...

Twenty four years ago –
February 4th, 2023,
whose existence begat 
by this dada and da mama aye
revel in your bursting at figurative 
seams viz maturation, and know...

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I saw one journey end and another begin
I saw my world changed and in a spin 

I saw another end - the end of the band
I saw John and Yoko hand in hand

I saw commandos...

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These are modern English translations of poems by the German poets  Ingeborg Bachmann, H. Distler and Johann Georg Jacobi.



“Song”
by Johann Georg Jacobi
translation by Michael R. Burch

Friend, tell me where the violet fled,
so lately gaily...

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Gefunden (“Found”)
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Into the woodlands,
alone, I went.
Seeking nothing,
my sole intent.

But I saw a flower
deep in the shade
gleaming like starlight
in a still glade.

I reached down to pluck it
when...

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(Valentine's Collection)

(Historic Crown Of Sonnets)

11.

1.
Love sings its song, a lover’s lullabye, 
so softly it sings right into our hearts. 
Lifting our hearts too the midst of love’s sky, 
a gentle song heard as our soft...

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"Blame it on the rain", for business 
on your sunny day, 
though it is a provider for you, 
you provide a poo poo.
World, obstain or remains In your dusty bowl, 
she be more precious than...

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               In the glade of sallowed comparisons
           as told by the...

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Martial epigram translations

Epitaph for the Child Erotion
by Marcus Valerius Martial
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Lie lightly on her, grass and dew...
So little weight she placed on you.

I created the translation above after the Nashville Covenant...

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I remember the day well though long has it been
Tied to the cold stone slab as I am
Buried in a cave made of sand
On a vanishing isle of heather
The memory hastens me back to happier...

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Shana Aubrey Harris – 
 whose existence begat by dada and da mama; aye
revel your bursting at figurative seams viz maturation, and know by
chatting over telephone, your aura, charisma, 
   and persona finds...

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Return, my love! Let’s flee the gates to leave our scornful town, 
And roam outside in deepest woods where Nature wears her crown!
Beside the river stands unmoved, as many years ago, 
The ruined castle’s narrow...

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