Long In chains( Poems

The Amistad Mutiny

Slavery, a dirty word no matter how it’s pronounced:
Abducted and herded to the slave fortress of Lomboko1 for trade.
To be tossed in chains below deck on the Portuguese ship Tecora,2
Sailing the Atlantic Middle...

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Poems about Fathers and Grandfathers III




Success
by Michael R. Burch

for Jeremy

We need our children to keep us humble
between toast and marmalade;

there is no time for a ticker-tape parade
before bed, no award, no bright statuette

to be delivered...

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Fulfilled fantasies and legitimate realities…you do know how to please…
Are you listening to my voice of longing and yearning?
No, don’t backstab me with your broken promises…stop being a horrid tease…
Do not worry, Lord, I am...

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Poems about Children IV

Salat Days
by Michael R. Burch

Dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Paul Ray Burch, Sr.

I remember how my grandfather used to pick poke salat ...
though first, usually, he’d stretch back in the...

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After numerous threats on our lives after 
a domestic violence with my abuser after 
I returned from Tampa murder 
trial I was finally healing several therapist home 
visits my children and I were ready for...

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One small little country which houses 
one of the highest paid governments 
in this modern world joke ran upside down

A big part of our life existing reality 
when the backbone is gone snakes appear with...

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as the PROPHETS of profits, WE lead and WE’re fair
while WE’re living the life of the poor BILLIONAIRE
– silver yachts, pearly castles, cash (plenty to spare) –
with the world on OUR backs... ah! the burdens...

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Silence reigns supreme in my reich

No don (except me)
doth trumpet within the aborted
barren reach of freedoms within expansive realm,
I annexed courtesy manifest destiny,
which peoples now inhabiting said jurisdiction
circumscribed by following coordinates -
Latitude: 40° 16' 22.20"...

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Ali's Song
by Michael R. Burch
for Muhammad Ali

They say that gold don’t tarnish. It ain’t so.
They say it has a wild, unearthly glow.
A man can be more beautiful, more wild.
I flung their medal to the river,...

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Stately stood Princess Amber in all her finery,
Emerald tunic over a crimson gown,
With gems inlaid in her rustling gown,
Her arms bangled in intricate gold slowly rose,
Her slender fingers rested on her heaving bosom,
Listening to unstopping...

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  Another Cruel Link in their Chain 

1.   Beginnings

Her babe was her joy, such a beautiful boy,
	and he suckled her breast till the end.
The slaver sought cash, bestowed mammy a thrash,
	sold her...

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Insecurities is gone in a heart beat now
Emotional injuries fade away somehow
I can feel the tension as it sheds away 
I can deal with the motion of your sway

I feel you here with me, no...

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In London Town, a girl was born
Who lost the crown, but won the scorn 
Of Lady Margaret's deep disdain
For something proud, she cannot reign

Her daughter's name was Mary Grace
An angel with a beaming face
Who blessed...

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Laura Norder took her gun and strapped it to her thigh
The skirt she wore was so damned short she had to strap it high
And stood there on the corner where the street lamps dare not...

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Font Din Black

so u real??? 
Warning! The following choppy, batty, 
dopey: elegy = flaky, goofy, history: iffy, 
jumpy, kooky: loopy, matty, nappy, nippy, 
sketchy material prone to find the reader 
dazed and bewildered, yet comfortably...

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As I thought upon the coming of February, the month designated as Black History Month, I began to think upon potential ancestors of long long ago. My imagination got the best of me, and this...

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I killed my friend,
I never wanted,
Do not see me cruel,
I did it for love.
We both ran naked
Under this influential shower.
No one uncoupled his lips
Against this faint madness,
We were indebted,
Either had to earn the prize.


It was...

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The inky black water sucks her in further
As she descends into the black depths of the abyss
Cloying dark swirls cover her head as soundlessly it reaches
Possessing her every inhalation – exhalation - it envelopes her...

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Intertwined in everything and nothing. Apart forever and never apart. Always reaching, never meeting. Intertwined in nothing and everything. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I twist and turn rising higher. 
I’m forced into destruction and anger. 
I want to dance...

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With the Trolls passed out on the grass...the regrettable task
    now fell to the brave Talkalot.
He moved to the gate and taking a sip from his flask...
    he stared...

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The white race has a point
But that doesn't mean
They should treat us improper
The white race has a point
Nature is repeating it over and over
White snow, white moon
white Jesus, white angels
white robes, white clouds
White pedestrian crossing
White...

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You healed me…you saved me with a kind, kind heart of sympathy
With well-spoken words (and you deleted the history of my endless rage)
Of empathetic wisdom and positivity…erasing the negativity and rehearsing accord in my mind...

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The roof’s the limit, hon, sorry – I can’t change the rules nor can I mask the night with delight that will let you down in the aftermath…
So, stop throwing your two-year-old fits…once again, darkness...

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nirvana in reverse 
My mind is filled with doubt
Guess I chose a different route
Found a cure to the ache
I'm about to break for your sake
Alone

My mind is full with angst
Anxiety and dilemmas, no thanks
Got a...

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My missing piece.


Sometimes I’m crying hard on the inside;
I’ve been thinking about you running through my head,
From time to time.


And if you can hear me, I’m here for you
And all that I hope for is...

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