Long Grok Poems

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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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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Poems about Poems VI

The Board
by Michael R. Burch

Accessible rhyme is never good.
The penalty is understood?
soft titters from dark board rooms where
the businessmen paste on their hair
and, Walter Mitties, woo the Muse
with reprimands of Dr. Seuss.

The...

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Snapshots
by Michael R. Burch

Here I scrawl extravagant rainbows.
And there you go, skipping your way to school.
And here we are, drifting apart
like untethered balloons.

Here I am, creating "art,"
chanting in shadows,
pale as the crinoline moon,
ignoring your face.

There...

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First they came for the Muslims

after Martin Niemoller

First they came for the Muslims
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Muslim.

Then they came for the homosexuals
and I did not speak out
because I was...

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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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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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God Bless Each Day's Magnetic Field On Earth!

God Bless Each Day's Magnetic Field On Earth!

God bless each day's magnetic field on Earth (1) that shields the human race
from cosmic rays bombarding Earth and us (from...

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Spring's Excitement
There are rhythms of Nature that no one controls
that farms use to advantage! Time's fishermen sailed
both with tides and fair breezes offshore in their boats
at each dawn and dusk's onshore brought home each day's...

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Is Joss Whedon ‘I AM?’ (1) Christ Reincarnate?
                  I Think That That’s Doubtful!

More than Trump ‘IS’ (1) (by...

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Poems about Poets VII

Gallant Knight
by Michael R. Burch

for Alfred Dorn and Anita Dorn

Till you rest with your beautiful Anita,
rouse yourself, Poet; rouse and write.
The world is not ready for your departure,
Gallant Knight.

Teach us to sing...

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Galactic Strings or Void of Space?

A poem’s akin to a necklace, one fashioned
of water-worn pebbles (from rarest of realms),
stone cold truths tumble-polished, love’s chord weaves together.
Do fossilized beads left behind in Life’s wake
spark faint hint...

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A Flirtation With Love (Parts 1, 2, & 3 finis)
#1 Sue's Legacy (Has A Home In My Heart)

Sure, each touch that enjoins us to life has Love's sparks,
one less photon (warms retina), dies but informs
that...

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Quotes:
1. "Doubt is not the absence of faith - certainty is!"  Karen Armstrong

therefore

2. "It is impossible to be a true Christian and not have doubts!"   Brian Johnston

3. “For by grace you have...

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Each day’s (we’re alive) one more leaf that has fallen
from tree (Fate’s collusion?), our edifice grown
with the help of light garnered from sources outside
of our provenance, moisture, and minerals,
‘cheap’s’ turned to ‘gold,’ not by Chemistry’s...

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I. Early Childhood’s Gifts

Gift 1:
Is love felt from our parents, our friends a true gift
or more something we earn bit by bit over time,
(a child adds to, subtracts from, as days turn to years)?
This is...

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(Necessary, Sufficient – Why? How?)

Was the ‘Death of Christ’ needful? Can ‘Mind of God’ change?
Might the rainbow then signal ‘Repentance,’ a sign
God does grow and responds too, to changes wrath wrought?
Were there souls saved by...

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Was Saul a Deeply Flawed Intellectual Snob (Perhaps a Prude as Well)?
Does Christ's Protest Still Ring True Today?

Part 1:
I'll state my aim clearly, "I come, not to praise Paul (Christ honored?) but bury
usurper? Profane, anti-Christian's...

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Every child that is born gets a slice of God's heart,
But a fetus can't have one; You sure you're so smart?
Though some folks disagree (do quote Bible verse too),
Are they liars and frauds who call...

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If the day dawns, at last, ‘Men’s Group’ (1) wants to address ‘loss’
(most feel in retirement), I’d jump at the chance! Let’s be fans!
I am loath to leave ‘Men’s Group,’ but moved too, to let...

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Heaven for Dummies, Yes, You! (Hell Debunked)

You may think I’m all ‘Ego’ or ‘Certified Loon,’
but I pray you’ll consider this humble attempt
to move riffraff from ruts, to unstick (maze stuck) muse
through a monstrous attack on...

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Warning: Barely Closeted Monsters Lurk Here!

Religious freedom’s what’s at stake! True monsters wage this war!
God’s told THEM (1) just when life begins (so faith that differs SIN)!
My Bible does not say, does yours? Raise hands...

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I could be way off base, but I think that ‘Control’
and ‘Graced Giving’ are opposites, poles that can’t meet
in a space with dimensions, where sanity floats
and integrity lives (for one can’t buy a gift!)
‘Good Samaritan’s...

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Grab Bag Poems and Epigrams

POEMS

Less Heroic Couplets: Dark Cloud, Silver Lining, Dupes
from “Love in the Time of the Coronavirus”
by Michael R. Burch

Every corona has a silver lining:
I’m too far away to hear your whining,
and despite...

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PROFESSOR POETS

These are poems about professor poets and other “intellectuals” who miss the main point of poetry, which is to connect with readers via pleasing sounds and the communication of emotion as well as meaning.



Professor...

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