Long Hyacinth Poems

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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"What a fine day for a picnic," my friends all said,
In the dog days of summer, with the hot sun overhead.

We would all go for a swim, and then have a fine lunch,
And would return...

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POTW 28 January 2018

Prologue:
A beautiful extra-terrestrial female researcher is sent down to a remote island to observe earth and beam her findings back to her planet. She’s strictly forbidden to make any human contact. She...

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M o o n is a rose quartz pearl,
     unraveling midnight musings,
                  glazed in...

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I am an unvoiced breeze~
a sea warrior 
    kite-surfing through 
    heinous waves, 
knitting cobalt chronicles 
    from smooth syllables~ 
tackling chaotic currents 
with chamomile magic...

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Sometimes, when 
your sparkling spirit 
waltzes with me 
to the perfumed 
periwinkle grooves 
of saffron breezes, 
I'm lost in a forever gaze, 
within those 
flickering ferns
of a nascent nightmare, 
where I ain't any 
velvet-purple orchid,...

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Le Balcon (The Balcony)
Charles Baudelaire
trans. Michael R. Burch

Paramour of memory, ultimate mistress,
source of all pleasure, my only desire;
how can I forget your ecstatic caresses,
the warmth of your breasts by the roaring fire,
paramour of memory, ultimate...

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When tangerine tinted tunes 
within 
  sunset serenades~
 unravel saffron symphonies,
  engrossed in 
  hibiscus hymns of hallelujah~
I swirl to radiant rays of 
  sakura stardust,
where mystical monologues 
of silent angels~
caress...

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I once was a
sea lavender star, 
soaked in sunsets, 
draping evenings
with soft yarns of
hydrangea haze ~
before you stole
me from those
sangria skylines like
a windswept wave,
and placed my
hyacinth heart upon
the tan throne of 
your verbena soul. 
Never...

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As the apologetic sun
melts in hibiscus vase
of pastel-peach 
horizons and peels off
those pristine pigments 
of egoistic elegance, 
sailing upon 
aquamarine foam
of vanilla waves ~
where dignity
unveils a clemency
within catharsis, 
I dare to surrender
towards the 
pink-teal blends...

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I gaze beyond 
the silver winged 
     heart of 
twinkling twilight,
lost within metaphors 
    in warm cashmere
    bows of midnight. 
Whilst lava lamps
  ...

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In a world bejeweled 
with tainted trinkets,
and feigned flowers,
we follow the 
wailing waves below 
whirling wind,
like secluded silhouettes,
stranded on the
cusp of chaos,
unable to find the sparkling
streak of hyacinth hope-
between dusk and dawn. 

Perhaps there is...

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I have gazed upon her eyes to wonder why? For they have brought me a memories of another for I could not have. Yes, this is what I saw? Her skin black like the night...

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She That Rivaled The Glowing Moon

Thy *hyacinth* hair upon white shoulders laid bare
thy face, mirror of love in heavenly skies.
The miracle of thy body, so sweet and fair
its soft innocence, destroyer of worldly lies.

Walking behind...

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Inside my mailbox late last month; nine packs of seeds - a mystery!
I hadn't ordered anything, but curious was I to see
what might become of planting them. So grabbing trowel, hoe, and rake,
I set about...

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To my enemies,
cloaked in t w i n k l i n g topaz~
I’ve become immune 
to your illusive m a n t r a s,
recited in roseate refrains.

I’ve learned to see 
the vermilion 
...

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 Love is always a majestic,
             long-lived, long-suffering
               ...

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Floriography

Allamanda in April slowly open its trumpets around posts that look like 
Buttercups of honey for bees to dive in to replenish their striped bellies
Crocus's yellow stigmas that flavour our food are a blessing by...

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 Her untamable sakura spirit
glows like scents of petrichor,
perfumed in jasmine water,
whilst there’s no path
to golden rays of sunlight,
she shines for the elite vines
trailing through silver 
    gates of heaven.

And when the...

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The winged god Zephyrus, handsome and graceful
gently flapped his wings, gliding across the meadows.
His eyes fell on naked youths splashing at play
in the sparkling water of a deep wide pool, sheltered  
by willow trees,...

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Huntress
by Michael R. Burch

after Baudelaire

Lynx-eyed, cat-like and cruel, you creep
across a crevice dropping deep
into a dark and doomed domain.
Your claws are sheathed. You smile, insane.
Rain falls upon your path, and pain
pours down. Your paws are...

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Duellem (The Duel)
by Charles Baudelaire
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Two combatants charged! Their fearsome swords
brightened the air with fiery sparks and blood.
Their clashing blades clinked odd serenades,
reminding us: youth's inspired by overloud love.
But now their...

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There are beautiful creatures to grace plains.
There are beautiful flowers for bouquets. 
There are beautiful people …
         natural and otherwise.
Whether people, creatures or flowers,
   ...

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the canto of begging

1.
when the morning sets in
with the sun rising in the east 
i put on the dress of a beggar 
extended up to the horizon
and the canto of my begging starts 

i beg...

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                                  MAJESTIC...

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