Long Hesitate Poems

I often surprise many people in many ways
With the words I say…with the actions I make…
It’s extraordinary how many seek high praise
With the words they say…with the actions they fake…

Neither will I…
Assume the worst in...

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I heard you calling my name in an echoing whisper 
I saw a bird take wing in the whirling wind of disaster 
I put my weary head on your broad shoulders
The moment we touched, I...

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Zen Death Haiku

Brittle cicada shell,
little did I know
you were my life!
—Shuho, translation by Michael R. Burch

Returning
as it came,
this naked worm.
—Shidoken, translation by Michael R. Burch

As dew glistens
on a lotus leaf,
so too I soon must vanish.
—Shinsui,...

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Epitaph for a Palestinian Child
by Michael R. Burch

I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.



Autumn Conundrum
by Michael R. Burch

It's not that every leaf must finally...

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Yosa Buson haiku translations

On the temple’s great bronze gong
a butterfly
snoozes.
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Hard to describe:
this light sensation of being pinched
by a butterfly!
?Yosa Buson, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Not to worry...

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Athenian Epitaphs II

These are ancient Greek epitaphs for lost family and friends, including dogs and other animals ...

Now his voice is prisoned in the silent pathways of the night: 
his owner's faithful Maltese... 
but will...

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Donald impersonating
a nice guy publisher right 
after my accident traumatic 
brain injury car bomb attack 
he followed me to book stores 
ice cream shops art museum 
obsessed with my poetry my 
manuscript i was writing...

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We need to talk.

Is this one of those times
where you need to talk
and I must pretend to listen
while you rant?

Well, yes,
if you could extend this favor.

Your topic?

Social Darwinism.

Isn't that the birthplace of unfettered Capitalism
and Fascism
and...

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Many blessings after all these years i got refunded for the days I worked 1997 I left a job at the BX i left in great standing actually they owed me six days pay by...

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(Somewhere in late 18th-century Europe a friend, Laetitia, by way of a letter warns her beloved girlfriend, Euphoria--a young, gay and unsuspecting mistress--against the almost inevitable seductions of the infamous and maundering philanderer, Melancholia.).



Dear Euphoria,

...

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In a small village in the green valleys of the Peak District, Sarah gave birth to a son, after a decade of trying for a child with her husband, Peter B Perfekt.  It was...

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Hello CRYSTALSKY*.                                 ...

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Break my neck; snap it in two, snap it in half
don't give me that incredulous, frightened look as I ask
don't hesitate in front of me, please just do me this favor
so I gain a halo,...

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“The Scorpion’s Touch”

Under glass
the sound cuts out sharp
just like under water
and we run out of breath 
like insects running around 
frantically out of time
we are magnified 
in our tight enclosures

internally observed
the external turns away
two heart...

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As she saw it.


The mountains and the meadows were always so beautiful this time of year.  It seemed as if a fresh new world always came to life. The high cliffs turned sharply downward....

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Several days passed as DynDoeth awaited a response from Seileach concerning his request for a private audience.  He checked and re-checked the argument that he would make to have the throne replaced back into...

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I grieve for your safety, sis, and I pray for you almost every day – 
Depression does leave a big impact on us in a negative way
But I think you think I’m crazy…tell me if...

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"Welcome to the playground"
'Ring around the roses. Ring around the roses. 
Ring around the roses. Ring around the roses.'

Jack the ripper, he slept with a whore, and became deadly ill 
While his soulmate Jill became...

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In a surprise announcement today,
President Plan B Sandman's
EcoMinister of CoOperative Economics
translated bipartisan balanced ecologic
into "Full-Budda BiLateral Political Consciousness."

Curiously, 
rather than presenting theoretical support,
he seems to offer analogical evidence
for his ecological thesis
about logic,
or logos,
or neurosystemic linguistics,
or...

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You’re like a backpack, jam-packed with memories of High School’s fun times and hard times…I know I had weaknesses back then; in addition, I had strengths that I still lack
You carry everyone’s weight including my...

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Tell us what everybody most needs to know about the 2020 Global EarthRights Party.

Well speaking for myself,
and I guess probably my extended family
of diverse relatives and friends and neighbors,
certainly including the polar bears and turtles
and...

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remains the pain within the dark
A song so soft of love and heart
Yet, holes this deep leave their mark
Like life's sorrowed canvas art

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     “Elf King,” said DynDoeth, “Erlenkönig means Elf King.”
Joulupukki...

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I found out, walking the difficult route,
That falling in love ain’t a friend at all
No one can hear my midnight shout, I’m out
Try to knock me out, but I’ll stand tall
Help is on the way...

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Ask if we'll ever see the end of wars and you're bound to hear,
that it will never happen, not in a thousand years.
I hear you loud and clear, but I just don't accept it.
For someone...

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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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