Long Humorist Poems

Against a willowy wailing backdrop of inner chaos,
an indignant incendiary mask stifles the simmering cauldrons,
of a stoic stage clown post lachrymose performance wearily stunning yet stung,
or the surreptitious posture of the laugh it off as...

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Der Abschied (“The Parting”)
by Bertolt Brecht
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

We embrace;
my fingers trace
rich cloth
while yours encounter only moth-
eaten fabric.
A quick hug:
you were invited to the gay soiree
while the minions of the "law" relentlessly pursue...

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Quote: "Everything is funny as long as it is happening to Somebody Else."    By American humorist, entertainer and writer Will Rogers (1879-1935)


The day you poured hot coffee down your white top, ...

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Die Bücherverbrennung ("The Burning of the Books")
by Bertolt Brecht
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

When the Regime
commanded the unlawful books to be burned,
teams of dull oxen hauled huge cartloads to the bonfires.

Then a banished writer, one...

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within the under belly of
this hob bull ling Leviathan beast
induced roaring hungry soundcloud issued
within abdominal folds
finding they in creased

never diminishing, matter
whether I turn north, south, west or east
this adult desired,
soon after he envisioned
buttered crispy dish...

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blue planet water
blue sky just scattered sunbeams
dusk's red, unbent light


Brian Johnston
July 28,2014

Poet's Notes: 
Isn't it great? Three wonders of nature explained in 17 words. It is so much fun 
sharing my love of Physics with...

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IF EVER I HAD A COUNTRY - LXXXII

    for Carlos Bousoño, the eminent Spanish critic, poet and professor
           who maintained that if...

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Thinking of O, Ms. Jill Martin was in her solitude “Quietly…breathing”
That, she just waved her hand greeting April Lewis “Without Speaking”
I spied humorist Donald Meikle, writing a “Note to a Lady in Waiting”

Let’s party! exclaimed...

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Die Maske des Bösen (“The Mask of Evil”)
by Bertolt Brecht
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

A Japanese woodcarving hangs on my wall—
the mask of an ancient demon, limned with golden lacquer.
Not unsympathetically, I observe
the forehead’s bulging...

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**“Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made.” – 
American Humorist/Author Mark Twain (real name Samuel Clemens) 



Prestigious lawmaking bodies are comprised of solons*
Some find it hard to refrain from...

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Radio Poem
by Bertolt Brecht
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

You, little box, held tightly
to me
during my escape,
so that your delicate tubes do not break;
carried from house to house, from ship to train,
so that my enemies may...

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gift from father beyond cemetery,
bound red book named Euclid's geometry,
father was head teacher of known repute,
but the son's reading skills were less astute.

wrapped in fine velvet it was in dad's room,
they thought "a clear sign...

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Target for use by the Cruelly Ill-Used
Morally targetting  his torturers,
Nobly tending a body and mind bruised
By the meanest sadistic adventurers.

All the time, a choice handgum of prisoners of conscience,
Nearly in the mold of a...

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“Some cause happiness wherever they go
Others whenever they go”
One of Oscar Wilde's famous quotes
Would have been a great man to know

“Always forgive your enemies
Nothing annoys them so much”
Another gem from this famous fellow
As a humorist...

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Innocence has its travails of 
Losing the true identity of
Being touchy versus being sensitive.

I ruined many beautiful moments
Forsook my joys to reel in entanglements
Of lively public bantering as being abusive

A mild joke was a jab...

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A Rhyme on a Free Verse Poet

Her poetry has brevity and also clarity.
I really like her free verse done that way.
Like miniature free verse too are her haiku.
Often so amazing are they!
From “Kisses” to “Wishes”...

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Meander and Great Gander

Writing poems and playing a guitar
My soul never scare or leave a scar
Even though some say I'm a rising star
Love hearing me play from off way far

Poems of my personality are an...

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Their faces are still there;
caricatures and cameos,
amigo mugs and jug ears.
Cheering, jeering chums
that would phone at four in the morning
to garble drunken thoughts,
make momentous plans,
or borrow ten quid.
The oddball humorist
and part-time suicide,
the drama queen
contesting her...

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She is most like her age

Time having eroded some of her natural beauty

A few warts have appeared here and there in spots

Yet there is this blend of young and old alike melded into one

She has...

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I’m Huck, and my last name is Finn.
On the great Mississippi I’ve been
playing hooky from school
‘cause there ain’t any rule
that can keep Huckleberry caged in.

I bet that you’ve already read
about the fun life that I’ve...

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Tried writing stuff of a serious nature
Just knew it wasn't for me
Dabbled a bit but I just couldn't hack it
A humorist is all I'll be

It's not exclusive, still write about love
Some about conflict and war
But...

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Tried writing stuff of a serious nature
Just knew it wasn't for me
Dabbled a bit but I just couldn't hack it
A humorist is all I'll be

It's not exclusive, still write about love
Some about conflict and war
But...

Read More

~~~~~~~

Pals

Their faces are still there;
caricatures and cameos,
amigo mugs and jug ears.

Cheering, jeering chums
that would phone at four in the morning
to garble drunken thoughts,
make momentous plans,
or borrow ten quid.

The oddball humorist
and part-time suicide,
the drama queen
contesting her...

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You don’t call him Terrorist’
Who can’t dislocate a wrist:
Whose speeches do the plain harm
While he might not waste a farm.

His palms like ancestors bares,
Ancient styles promotes like wares;
He’d forgotten worldly cares,
Save open taunts of false...

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Their faces are still there;
caricatures and cameos,
grinning mugs and jug ears.
Cheering, jeering chums
that would phone at four in the morning
to garble drunken thoughts,
make momentous plans,
or borrow ten quid.

The oddball humorist
and part-time suicide,
the drama queen
contesting her...

Read More