Long Imposes Poems

Sonnets LXXI-LXXX

Because You Came to Me
by Michael R. Burch

Because you came to me with sweet compassion
and kissed my furrowed brow and smoothed my hair,
I do not love you after any fashion,
but wildly, in despair.

Because you...

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Eminent domain, manifest destiny, usurpation...

Maternal grandfather of mine
long since passed among the living;
He left his Motherland 
before onset of Holodomor,
a policy of the Soviet Union 
aimed at the destruction 
of the Ukrainian nation,
the 1932–1933 genocide...

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 set-apart 
tactical intrusion 
optical illusions
 set in place
 put in place
 it's all in front of your face 
though you can't see
 what you can't see
 yet you can see spiritually 
attracted to attached...

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Eminent domain, manifest destiny, usurpation...

Russian soldiers in general
and Vladimir Putin in particular
perpetrate outright injustice
against Ukrainian population.

Impossible mission to comprehend
the mindset of belligerent, egotistical,
indignant, NeoNazi, tsarist
self anointed totalitarian zealot.

Gross violation of human rights
blatantly carried out
courtesy diabolical...

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Friendship is....?

The warm feeling inside, we always get
when an old acquaintance is unexpectedly met:
the sound of a familiar voice on a telephone line,
that sincerely asks: “are you well and keeping fine?”
We seek information after ill...

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Chapter 13: Leaving the River

Our leaving the river I think surprised us both,
But the seeds were sown early in our preparations,
And shared philosophy of following our bliss,
Simply stated, the trip stopped being fun,
Prairie du Chien,...

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LAO TZU ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS IV

The Roots of Turbulence
by Lao Tzu, translation by Michael R. Burch

Heaviness lies at the root of lightness;
stillness begets turbulence.
Thus the nobleman heads his caravan
keeping a constant eye on his possession-laden wagons.
At...

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Schvitzing for more'n sixty hours without electricity
(visit https://www.aol.com/?ncid=
crosssellusaolc00000003 - for further details)

Courtesy rare derecho
killed four people
nearly forty eight hours ago
power outage affected more than
half a million people
in mid-Atlantic states.

Residents in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
(the poet's hometown)
smack dab...

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Sinister glacial dissolution 
verging on huge jagged icebergs reverberate
nature mocking bird song sans bot mot, 
braggadocio, rodomontade, et cetera
distinct, ear splitting, 
and fractal heaving snap, crackle and pop, 
cacophonously fabulous, incredulously humongous, 
and thunderously voluminous...

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PAUL VALERY TRANSLATION: “SECRET ODE”

“Secret Ode” is a poem by the French poet Paul Valéry about collapsing after a vigorous dance, watching the sun set, and seeing the immensity of the night sky as the...

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If only I could ride upon the back of a dragonfly~
O', what journey I would behold...

I receive the wind's forced breath against my face-and revel in my locks rolling in the vibrant 
sunlight.
We hover just...

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Slavery
enslavement
force of self-imposed ownership 
overpowering another's ego-ownership,
anthro-morbid,
collective ego-morphic tolerance of identity rape,
fear and anger, together building hate,
from which enslavement derives;
a culturally camouflaged nondual co-arising relationship
of codependent despair,
self-hatred.

Enslaving force perpetuates Ego's full-blown angry reduction
in self-identity,
deduction of...

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In the whisper of twilight, where shadows meet the edge of dreams,
Lies the truth of our times, a somber murmur carried by the wind of mediocrity.
Once, the soul soared with the ambition of stars; now,...

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VILLANELLES IV

She Always Grew Roses
by Michael R. Burch

a belated eulogy for my grandmother, Lillian Lee 

Tell us, heart, what the season discloses. 
“Too little loved by the ego in its poses,
she always grew roses.” 

What...

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In the silent twilight of a faded night, I gaze at you with the eyes of my soul,
Why don't you bend your lips towards mine and whisper all your secrets?
Why don't you reveal the depths...

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I Wish I Had More!

By: Woodrow Lucas

Hey man!! I know it's cold out here.  Here is a dollar and a God Bless You.  I wish I had more.

Hey man!! I know that it...

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Because She Craved the Very Best
by Michael R. Burch
 
Because she craved the very best,
he took her East, he took her West;
he took her where there were no wars
and brought her bright bouquets of stars,
the...

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Appointment to have organ removed by robot-assisted surgeon.
Air-conditioned, no mosquitoes in the OR. When you arrive
You'll remove all your clothes. Naked before the ladies, nurses
Who have seen it all before. Mainly remember you're not unique.
Think...

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To: Maya Angelou 

From: Tony Angelo  

In the city a chisel across the grain?, like a concrete heartbeat under my feet, I heard her voice, Maya, like warm a river flowing off the cracked...

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The ancient scriptures are both boon and bane
on one hand holding out a ray of hope
yet also becoming a thought form chain
letting us not with light of truth elope.
Each breath we take anchors us deeper...

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So you think you’ve reached the age of maturity
Even old enough to draw your old age security?
Not so fast! Listen to what I have to say.
Everyone hopes they will reach that day,
Certainly it’s expected, that...

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Case in point comprises emotional state of euphoria 
would deafeningly, definitely, deliciously get 
frenziedly expelled from stadium. Roe ting for 
“our boys” packing every last seat in the bleachers 
all manner of humankind would (during...

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Albeit cold shower with sudden zoo
ming onset of
brisk fallen temperatures
may not be amenable to you
dear reader, but after Matthew
sets to washing
creating substantial lather,

visited with healthy slew
of frothed shampooed hair do
(cuz - jest like
Spongebobsquarepants,
I like abundant...

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This world for some is so tough,
We keep spending money on useless stuff,
When there's kids out there dying,
Crying in poverty in need of surviving.
We keep buying to impress, 
Trying to look good in that new dress,
But...

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It’s an enduring strain,
	and a constant fight,
to remain focussed,
	when failing sight,
defeats my writing
	of poetic lines!
Frustration oft rules,
	when I see few signs,
of what I’ve written,
	for all is blurred.
Then angst prevails,
	with curses heard,
as I look in vain
	to...

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