Long Highways Poems

It may have been the devil himself who prompted the kids in my schoolyard back in 1947 to chant "Patsy Foley's roly-poly from eating too much ravioli."

At first, no one could remember who started the...

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Flint 
Within its brilliance gleaming
Cool black in lacquered polished silver chrome
Cranked up pistons bleached in summer’s heat
Hot steam rising as gears thundering
Beyond the crystal liquid city lights
Highways built across the land
In hearts felt pride American...

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Let Me Give Her Diamonds
by Michael R. Burch

Let me give her diamonds
for my heart's
sharp edges.

Let me give her roses
for my soul's
thorn.

Let me give her solace
for my words
of treason.

Let the flowering of love
outlast a winter
season.

Let me...

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One of the least talked about,
yet most problematic issues
for regenerating  

Global
social-psychological
mental and physical
health and public safety
movements

Well fed and watered
to empower and enlighten interfaith
action and reflection,
song and dance
liturgical and fire-circle
contemporary-indigenous wisdom

Is to explore together
how and...

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MODERN SONNETS I

I prefer the original definition of the sonnet as a “little song” of indeterminate form and length. These modern sonnets vary from more-or-less traditional to free verse.


Maker, Fakir, Curer
by Michael R. Burch

A poem...

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Sonnets XXV-XXXII

Archaischer Torso Apollos (“Archaic Torso of Apollo”)
by Rainer Maria Rilke
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

We cannot know the beheaded god
nor his eyes' forfeited visions. But still
the figure's trunk glows with the strange vitality
of a...

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Poems about Fathers and Grandfathers II



All Things Galore
by Michael R. Burch

for my grandfathers George Edwin Hurt Sr. and Paul Ray Burch, Sr.

Grandfather,
now in your gray presence
you are

somehow more near

and remind me that,
once, upon a star,
you...

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Perhat Tursun

Perhat Tursun (1969-) is one of the foremost living Uyghur language poets, if he is still alive. Born and raised in Atush, a city in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tursun began writing poetry...

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We were off,                                ...

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In a matter of months, we would experience the greatest economic                        ...

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This happened last Fall, during Thanksgiving break.

Lisa and I were at the MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), with her family, at an exhibit of Art Deco sculpture. Lisa and I came out of a...

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"FALL"



I wrap
my Autumn world
around you

Calliope turning
raising the 
season’s poetry, 

I am she
returning 

dancing 
with Summer’s 
dying leaves 

Twirling you up into 
my warm golden brown 
symphony

hear me sing, 
whispering notes,
holding keys 

towards you 
you're approachable
reaching...

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I have heard some things in class today
I pray I make more progress and struggle less
Praying for peace and quiet someday
I want a clear mind from regret and distress

Cold-hearted lies 
Won’t open its eyes to...

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Dear Local Boards of EcoSchool Education,
Departments of Environmentally Protected Walkable Transportation,
Cooperatively Maintaining Public-Private Works
and STEAM Play
and WinWin GreenGames,
Hysterical Historical Associations,
Social Work Departments of Climate Restorative Therapy,
and Public Health-Wealth Departments:

Did you leave anyone out dear?

Just the...

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The Highways and the Byways
By Franklin Price
10/27/2107
(Inspired by Nancy McIntyre Stepp)

 The highways and the byways
Of this life in which we've grown
Bring back many memories
Of  places we have known

The Interstates most boring
They bypass most...

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Those were such happy days, for I had lately been deeded a farm,
My aunt and uncle were retiring, so tillage had lost its charm.

Since they were childless, and to a retirement community bound,
It seemed I...

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Inspired by the painting "Highland Lassie" (1871) by Thomas Faed.

(Verse One; In introduction to Cailin)
Walkin' on the highways, searchin' down the byways,
Tromps a lonely figure on the Highland roads;
Peerin' from the Highdown, breezin' through the...

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The flames of the furnace (well-travelled by wind
slowly glazing the rags of gray women chagrined
at the sight of a hair fleeing tresses now thinned) 
sometimes billow like waves flooding naves through the night,
when the lightning...

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To manipulate laws to disqualify voters,
Vote multiple times, or give dead living voice,
These are acts of a traitor! Man’s born with a choice.
Should political virtue be building consensus,
To hate when you don't win a kind...

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China Tour Diary Moment #1
--------------------------------

KUNMING THOUGHTS


Sunday morning flight to Kunming city;
East bound to explore vignettes of China;
New vistas to sight, postcard memories;
Feast visual galore on tour agenda.

Yunnan province greets our earthly landing;
Brisk clearance and we...

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As the sun shone in southern skies, I was finally on my vacation,
And I turned the pages of a magazine, with new fashion creations.

I lounged beside the resort pool, in a straw hat and sunglasses,
Sipping...

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People often say I talk a lot, but I hardly think that is true,
Like the whispers about the bluebird, of which he never knew.

Talking helps a lot with my job, which is in public relations,
As...

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{Three o'clock on a December afternoon,
the sky is opaque as my nature has stood out, the rain drizzles down my windows and I am distinctly reminded how it once drizzled down my back; the lacquers...

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Bolsonaro was president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023.
Former army officer and right-wing nationalist who revered Brazil's 1964–1985 military rule.
Jair Bolsonaro sought to arm a disarmed nation.
To a place where gun ownership meant freedom.
Anti-establishment populism...

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The Flood
It was springtime in the foothills, the air was fresh and clean
The snow pack in the mountains was the most there’d ever been
It was summer in the valleys but above was freezing cold
With every...

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