Long Hymned Poems

Lady’s Favor
by Michael R. Burch

May
spring
fling
her riotous petals
devil-
may-care
into the air,
ignoring the lethal
nettles
and may
May
cry gleeful-
ly Hooray!
as the abundance
settles,
till a sudden June
swoon
leave us out of tune,
torn,
when the last rose is left
inconsolably bereft,
rudely shorn
of every device but her thorn.


The...

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Winter
by Michael R. Burch

The rose of love's bright promise
lies torn by her own thorn;
her scent was sweet
but at her feet
the pallid aphids mourn.

The lilac of devotion
has felt the winter hoar
and shed her dress;
companionless,
she shivers—nude, forlorn.

Published...

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Sonnets LII-LX

The Endeavors of Lips
by Michael R. Burch

How sweet the endeavors of lips: to speak
of the heights of those pleasures which left us weak
in love’s strangely lit beds, where the cold springs creak:
for there is...

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LOVE POEMS V

These are love poems by Michael R. Burch, about life, the dream of love, virtue, a first kiss, a first crush, the birth of a first relationship, the joy of a first love...

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Within the frame a sepia scene
a dusty porch   a rickety chair   
the fabric of your dusky face creased
with ceaseless sunbaked woes
your old pair of getaway feet gives 
a different walk of...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch
 
Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the...

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1.	Shall I narrate you a tale or may be a thousand stories,
Of a lost love and fervent devotion?
Or chronicles of longing and separation? 
Mayhap I, relate both as you wish, open your eyes and give...

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“The heaventree of stars” (in Ulysses as said Joyce)
“hung with humid nightblue fruit” (ah that Bloomian voice)
could evoke a masterpiece the world has come to know,
The Starry Night, so treasured now, by Vincent van Gogh…

In...

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Jane Merchant (2)

Invalid of flesh (but not of soul),
She saw Creation whole,
And hymned the seasons come to pass
Beyond her bedroom window-glass—
December trees—and April rain-wet grass.

          ...

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Gazing at an abandoned silhouette, sitting amongst polite stars throughout the night
Striking hair carelessly blowing amid cool zephyrs, curiosity climbed crevices of my spine to 
witness such a mesmerizing sight
Interest reached its summit, I couldn’t...

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Forgive me if I ask how long before we converge again around the bonfire in the wee hours to douse this chilly dust-laden winds of the season.
It was a misery, but it should happen again.
That...

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Woe betide lower men who fickle facades embrace
And wit’s hard-won gold for shifting dross exchange; 
Dubbing avarice-sired glosses exquisite gems pure,
With obscuring eyes decimating solid worth's range.

With their own ears they cannot first-hand hear,
And gauge...

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Methinks all antediluvian Love was
Whiter than snows atop higher tors;
And with more troth dudes did kiss
Purer maidens for pleasanter bliss.

I deem Art shortly after Noah’s Ark
To have been of better-spun spark; 
And bards of far...

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There were skies onyx at night... moons by day...
lakes pale as her eyes... breathless winds
undressing tall elms; ... she would say
that we loved, but some book said we'd sinned.
 
Soon impatiens too fiery to stay
sagged;...

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Earth has grown old
Angels veiled the sky
And night has gotten cold 
To put to sleep the stars on high

Wise men saw a star
And found a treasure of I Am
Shepherds heard a voice from a far
And...

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