Long Hand in hand Poems

Erin, for a girl who embodies Ireland
by Michael R. Burch

All that’s left of Ireland is her hair—
bright carrot—and her milkmaid-pallid skin,
her brilliant air of cavalier despair,
her train of children—some conceived in sin,
the others to avoid...

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“The True Mother”

What part of a heart
in another could one trust
when betrayal comes
like a silver bullet, words and deeds
sharp piercing to burrow 
bleed out Life’s dreams 
rust crumbles to dust

Virulent apathy spreads 
Betrayal’s destruction 
hand...

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Here We Shall Remain
by Tawfiq Zayyad
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Like twenty impossibilities
in Lydda, Ramla and Galilee ...
here we shall remain.

Like brick walls braced against your chests;
lodged in your throats
like shards of glass
or prickly cactus...

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Nucleotidings
by Michael R. Burch

“We will walk taller!” said Gupta,
sorta abrupta,
hand-in-hand with his mom,
eyeing the A-bomb.

“Who needs a mahatma
in the aftermath of NAFTA?
Now, that was a disaster,”
cried glib Punjab.

“After Y2k,
time will spin out of control anyway,”
flamed...

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Year One -

Tell me Eve,
does this Garden have everything we need,
do you think the walls are too tall,
are the gatekeepers reasonable, tolerable, right about it all,
what did Lilith know, where did she go
far past the...

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OTETS THE MANY DAYS AND NIGHT YOU LENT ME YOUR 
DIVINE EAR THROUGH PRAYER DURING HARDSHIP TIMES 
AND ILLNESS RAISING MY GRANDDAUGHTER KEEPING HER 
SAFE IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN WISCONSIN OUR LADY OF 
MOUNT CARMEL...

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"Dream 1: 4 Weeks in Positano"



Kisses long linger warm lips tasted intense
so sweet like cured Valencia Oranges
lips liquored triple sec not dry drunk on love
softly grazed, then held long

slow, deep, warm and wet

The story is...

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Be Embarrased by Arms

The right of a person to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon when in a
well-regulated militia necessary for the security of a free state. In other words, if 
you...

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Once upon a time there was a castle made of pure ivory. Pillars pale and barren, holding a surface of grace and elegance. This castle was the home of a mighty unicorn named Stardust. She...

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"Cocoon"

They say...
a New World 
traces over the old,
leaving the unaware,
erased, far behind 

the old unaware, 
left far behind,
crawls the walls
in its web of lies
spinning suspect 
strings of silk 
in the air

glistening diamond nets
slick and sticky...

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AFTER GARGANO CRIME FAMILY OF MADISON WISCONSIN BLEW UP MY FACE WITH A CAR BOMB MY LIFE WAS THREATENED THEY BEGAN TO EXTORT MY LIVELY HOOD IMPERSONATE ME PAYING WISCONSIN CITY OFFICIALS TO FRAME DISABLED...

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A Night On A Wharf

The couple decide to walk. The boardwalk still lit at this late hour guides them. They walk hand in hand,..whispering softly with small talk...solemn.,. lonely , yet together. The walk is...

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I.
Treasures That May Be Found In Destiny's New Shift

( Mille viri sententia agere nescit donec suscipit calamum scribere.)

For a brief spell, I hung my hammock in the shade
of the ancient tall oak tree, that God's...

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I miss the old days where only you had my key
I miss the old times - running wild and free
I miss the old house and your pool and banana tree
I miss the days when it...

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My Daughter

My beautiful Daughter, walks life’s paths alone,
She does so, by design – not of hers – on her own.
She travels heavily !, from place to empty space,
from space to vacant place – in what...

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"Barefoot in the Bushfires of the Vanities"



Heat rises slowly to rapture flames licking and teasing
Blue Ghostgums to stretch and crack wide open
as Fire spreads molten sweet sap bleeding burgundy all over 
amber gold wild bush...

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Sometimes I have the courage to think of the things that made me what I am today,
My memory takes me back to terrible things far away far off into my bitter past,
My mind like a...

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What would the rich do without the poor?
If there was no poor to clean the floor
What would the rich do without the poor?
If there was no one to guard the door
What would the rich do...

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"Fraudulent"



A writer writes of people 
walking lonely dark streets
begging for bread, shelter and cold without all

like he’s been there
trudging up and downhill knocking on doors 
that judgmentally remain closed after glimpsed twigging -

a monumental fail,...

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Life as we know can be overwhelming sometimes it may seem like your floating 
Just make sure you keep going even when you loose your way something can happen and change your day. Believe me...

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I have slept but I have not slept
I have not slept but I have slept
For the first time in two years
I slept without a word of care
No codes, no crossroads
No railroads, no shiploads
No lizards no...

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Once upon a time, there lived a young woman. She was tall with soft blue eyes and wispy blonde hair. She was married to a nice young man. He was less tall and had almond...

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In the realm of moons and breathless tides,
where promises dance with a serendipitous sonnet of sunrises,
along with morning kisses, unfolds a love story—
a poetic novel etched in the chronicles
within the hourglass of time,
a journey that...

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I knew that  I had to go somewhere but I did not know where 
I knew I had to go somewhere that was not  very far from here
So I  put on my...

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Gold is your soul


The drive there will be boring.
The arrival so momentous!
The disappointing greeters;
The sights not quite as expected.
The smell at times will be rancid.
The art of it all will be lost.
They will say “Welcome...

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