Long Gobble up Poems

Villanelles

The villanelle is a poetic form based on repetition, with a double refrain. 



Villanelle: The Divide
by Michael R. Burch

The sea was not salt the first tide...
was man born to sorrow that first day, 
with the...

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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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There are actual people
half woman half man
running mornings and
dream people in movies
half language half light.
Tomorrow is John’s funeral.

		*			*			*

This is my minute
my moment
Oops, gone!

Anything can happen
if you don’t resist
Resist!

		*			*			*

But who am I? You think bullets won’t
kill?...

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Again the alarm is set.

Strawberries, date squares…Yum, Yum.   

The alarm rings again. The tea party is over.

 She returns to her perch where her wings are immediately clipped by the Bald Eagle who...

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“Barking Up the Wrong Tree” 

ghost gums
shed their bark 
the min-min 
makes good use of it
papyrus, soft enough to 
imprint and write
thoughts, like the 
ripening welts of 
green ants 
small bites sting
subcutaneous and 
meridional, 
terra...

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Life is not cricket: though a game of cricket reflects life 
It portrays real-life conditions; from cradle to urn 
Starting with toss of a coin; ends in pulling bails off
Just as cricket life is simply...

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We came upon this captivating connection 
Not by force 
But by rejection
People longed for your sexual expressions 
But I know deep down inside that your heart was in another direction 
Your heart wanted peace of...

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I've never seen a baby so merry as Martha...
They say March newborns are bellwethers for blissful Springs Mary...
Hannah, Haverhill has been a hard place to call home
I'm sorry about Elizabeth's hanging, 
Thomas has honored you...

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The Ever Shifting Pattern of Life by
Terence David Cooper. June is wife's
name and they are Basildon,  Essex, 
England.

As children we learn lessons clear
Broadly defined lines we hold so dear
Constants to which we can easily...

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Humanity Canteen

My restaurant is exclusive and classy no paupers allowed though I
have to declare that I picked up the chef near the township where
on a paraffin cooker in his garden of plenty lots of dishevelment...

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Light da Roman candles
for da coming Chariots of Pharaoh holiday
Dem New Publicans
be back in pyramid power
Give a Caesar Palace casino hip, hip-hooray

Happy daze are here again!
Dem New Publicans bray 
dey be da common people’s friend

But...

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The Divide
by Michael R. Burch

The sea was not salt the first tide ...
was man born to sorrow that first day
with the moon—a pale beacon across the Divide,
the brighter for longing, an object denied—
the tug at...

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Ordinary Love
by Michael R. Burch 
 
Indescribable—our love—and still we say
with eyes averted, turning out the light,
"I love you," in the ordinary way
 
and tug the coverlet where once we lay,
all suntanned limbs entangled, shivering,...

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What Will Last Forever?


I stand on the sandy shore alone, as the sun wakes up the dark skies
Yawning a salty breeze against my face
 flushing pink,and blinking sleepy eyes
The seagulls squawk their blaring alarm
To be...

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Him or me?  Sweetie who's it gonna be?   You have me waiting, anticipating.  This 
question should not have you hesitating.  I've sat back and listened to you explain.  Your...

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From the distance they could see the light.
Flickers, shinning in the still of the night.
In front all they could see was darkness,
a blackness that took over the forest.

They had been traveling for many hours.
Hungry, tired,...

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I feel my ears pop,
As the light above me increases ...
Columns of purple sunshine shimmer and dance.
I swim up out of the cool, inky blackness of the depths,

And finally reach the surface, head bobbing like...

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Because Her Heart Is Tender, for Beth
by Michael R. Burch
 
She scrawled soft words in soap: “Never Forget”
dove-white on her car’s window (though the wren,
because its heart is tender, might regret
it called the sun to...

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Now I don't know if you've heard
Of the Baked Bean competition
Where contestants eat as much as can
In just twenty five minutes

Up they lined ready to start
To gobble up these dishes
Standing by were huge black pots
Ready...

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Why, the greatest enemy of man is man
for man has subdued everything else
Fear not the tiger, fear the murderer's plan
Just hearken well to what history yells!

At times twas jingoism, at times a rancorous desire to...

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A former Oiler once said 
Staying out of debt 
Give up being a bum 
Fill up my son 
Call yourself a titan 
And go do some fighting 
Years then passed 
While pumping gas 
This entrepreneur...

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I remember the land of drums I was born
  bedded beneath great hanging nets;
          the sound of the conch and the horn.
My blue suitcase filled...

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That meanest looking old grey cat,
just cross my path, me ~ meaning that,
he'd crowd out all the fine cats play
to gobble up their food ~ then stray!

Then two doors down ~ a new guy came
quite...

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Sweaty days and cruel summer,
without sleep and hunger,
star's burning and causing anger,
stay indoors and feel better,
pity the workers under the heartless sun sans shelter,
mercury rising above the meter,
deserted roads and buildings for haven.

A miracle on...

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After all these many carnivore years
You can call it guilt or you can call it fear
I've made up my mind to decide
I'm going vegan this November time

So I broke down hard and read some books
Heard...

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