Long Hoarse Poems

Agony be to society's demise
Labels are for fools, not for the wise
Play the familiar tune of in-unison serenity 
Fatality won't come any time soon, thankfully...

Homeless people were on the news not to long ago...I weep...

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 A French ‘Indianist’ Doctor: A Tribute to a Die-hard Humanist
                         ...

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Was it a cruel twist of fate?
Sneering, laughing chance?
Perhaps something I ate?
A bad bout of happenstance?

It wrenched and tore at my gut,
A sickening, sober, foreboding sign.
Wretched chance it was not,
This time was by insidious design.

The...

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“Through me you enter the city of woe
Trough me you enter the eternal pain
Through me you go to people lost below.

Justice inspired my highest factor reign;
I was created by act of divine,
Supreme wisdom and the...

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(Continuing the trip through Hell of Dante with poet Virgilio)

Pah-peh Sah-tan, Pah-peh Sah-tan al-ept!”,
Started Pluto with his hoarse voice toss
And that gentle wise, who any knowledge kept,

Told to encourage me: “don’t have a loss 
By...

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* This poem was written for a contest originally, but was used by Professor Anne-Marie Thornton of Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, to teach her WAR POETRY class in the spring semester of 2017. My...

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Her small angelic face ...

Once a place where broad smiles bloomed like butterflies on marigolds,
is streaked with the furrows that countless tears have etched into the
layers of dust and dirt and explosive residue that now...

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HEROES

Near somber guards, units of children heap 
dead leaves, naive to any else fallen.
Friend, you chuckle, but your posture speaks
of duty on this day of contradictions.

Firefighters bow heads in silent paean, 
while polished trucks stand...

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Date: April  1,   2051

  air planes departed in flight
 1 hour and 15 minutes
Between them. The trip was 7 hours
And approximately 30 minutes in
Duration. The first plane touched down 
On the...

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Polly eased her self up from the luxurious Couch 
Saying "Well, I'm going to leave Now, but I'll 
Be around later on." The twins 
Both noticed her dressed to Impress 
outfit as she stood. 
"Tell...

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I woke up this morning feeling vigorous and strong 
Even though I had lost some sleep, I could still feel my heartbeat
I took a shower, and got dressed and stared at the morning sky
I gazed...

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Sitting atop a large flat stone in an open field
Brushing aside his long silver locks
Bringing to his lips a long clay pipe
Steadying for a light, his gnarled knuckles make this a fight
His sandals dusty, brow...

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I…breathe again…
Meditating on flowers of my pasture, plucked with my eyes,
Resting…open, like buds blooming, and resting…

“Take me…” he said weakly, so softly in my ear…

I greeted the demon with the warmth in my eyes, 
Upon...

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In Michigan, the weather can change for the worst in October.
This particular Halloween came a blizzaring.
The lights went out and in a dark, dark room, candles were lit; therein, the opaquest narrative was captured.

*

With the...

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As I hover over the darkened room, I wonder how I have gotten here. Did I die, was I 
dead? That was the only explanation I could think of for my disembodiedment. But 
concentration was...

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A midnight shriek or sudden bang
Disrupts the thread of tales,
Entangled in unconscious mind
With sounds of lashing flails.

Wherefrom it comes, whither it goes?
I threw my eyes up there,
The eerie void soon called me up
To trudge down...

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My heart is so keen on you,
It leaves me cold, relentless, impossible
He fell into the love pools in my eyes,
The light you demand me to hide
He fell so lightly into my waters of secret
Only to...

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I could see stars everywhere, 
In every foggy corner, 
In the twinkling of their eyes
The exchange of goods, services, money
Some grateful and well-intentioned, others listless
Cold and accusatory 
Selfish and scared
I saw their lights come and...

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As I march with my brothers and sisters 
With tears in my eyes and their chanting in my ears I have to ask myself once again why?

Why? And for what reason must we still
Fight for...

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Moonbeams shine, sprouting sepia stars
Her heart's deepest recesses
Glow in the waves of a rose lake
Views that enliven the pulse of the nerves
Fairy tones bestow fragrance
Clouds of jasmine chilled and orchids nipped
Silky brown lips spoke in...

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Cowpoke
by Michael R. Burch, circa age 16

Sleep, old man...
your day has long since passed.
The endless plains,
cool midnight rains
and changeless ragged cows
alone remain
of what once was.

You cannot know
just how the Change
will rape the windswept plains
that you...

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Let the air fill your vocal sounds
Be enlightened by a gospel, energized choir
You are the main event
Brazening with glamorous features 
How lucky could you be? 

I seek not to hunt you down...heartless of your beauty 
Your hoarse growling...

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Chinese Translations III

Quiet Night Thoughts
by Li Bai aka Li Po
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Moonlight illuminates my bed
as frost brightens the ground.
Lifting my eyes, the moon allures.
Lowering my eyes, I long for home.


Lines from Laolao...

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W.T.H
(Welcome To Heartbreak)
	
My world envelops me into a state of darkness and misery. What happened to us, in my heart and mind remains a mystery. I thought our love would go down in history. But...

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SPOT THE HOMONYMS 
For the Homonyms are full of spots!

We were young and wore black
During the war we were under attack
We wear bright clothes now
Where were we?
I thought we were the prey
But now where do...

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