Long Keener Poems

Merciles Beaute ("Merciless Beauty")
by Geoffrey Chaucer
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Your eyes slay me suddenly;
their beauty I cannot sustain,
they wound me so, through my heart keen.

Unless your words heal me hastily,
my heart's wound will remain...

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please tell me ...

what happened?
what dire damage have i wrought?
what did i do to ruin it, that friendship, rare?
you once knew me better than most ...

my darkness didn't frighten you, didn't rattle,
you sighted those demons...

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He awoke to the sound of the women working to prepare breakfast.He was so hungry he felt nausea welling up.Do you think I could have some more of that broth he asked.Not only was he...

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THE SUN, EARTH & MOON
(Alternative title: Sygyzy)
The sun is the past—
crucible of the
epigenetic light.
The earth’s the present—
inexorably
our arrogant might.
The moon’s the future—
a desolate orb
frozen in its plight.
 
Modern science says: The sun is the past, the...

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From my mother's womb I yelled into the room,
mattress on the living room floor,
my bro I replaced as the youngest, his face
as he screamed and ran out through the door.
I tell you (no fooling) my...

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It’s great to be a member of the global elite,
   The bean poles in my garden are standing proud and neat.
Organic veg is thriving thanks to ample bags of peat.
   I...

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Oh Sweet Island!  Thou tropical paradise:
   Miles have I traced upon thy ceaseless reach
Of ocean-choked shorelines owed Heav’nly device
   Sheltering I, this marooned guest on thine endless beach.
Safe House against...

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Black Ops

Tex Lester and his sidekick Lumpy Bascom 
wiggled down the arroyo on their bellies
to better observe a latifundista trouble spot
too hot to touch so they tap danced instead
Lumpy grabbed the walkie talkie and said...

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It is foolish to feel so good, you forget about before.
It is foolish to feel so bad, you might again explore.
It is foolish to feel anything, anything but your core. 
It is foolish to feel...

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Sympathy

BY PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
    When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;   
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, ...

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Popular opinion over rules
some may say. 
If one could comb through hearts beyond name and number.
The real would reveal
truth yearns to bleed. 
Secrets whom cards would never concede.

Hands stay in line with dull color: barren,...

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Let me tell you a story about a dog named Sam
Sam was a basset hound of most dubious origins
He had a huge ugly wart on his back, not so glam,
A neighborhood dog, at supper he...

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Success in my hand
The power and the glory

On top of the world
I am invincible; me

The little ones left 
by the wayside without care

I take what I want
and to hell with their despair

for my life is...

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I was strolling through Evergreen Cemetery the other day,
Glancing at epitaphs etched upon various stones along the way.
Some flowing verse was out of this world but I can only assume,
That the authors were forthcoming in...

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Trusted producer of crimson cheeks
That could last for weeks:
Prime source of the running temperature 
Of seekers of a different picture,
The hammering heart beats few people bear 
When nothing is going to happen till next year.

The...

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Here from the ledge
looking into the liquid silence
across the abyss of time
the eye for detail is sharply seen
clear from this plateau, 
giving new edge
to a life spanning out
flat, as a cord
where the view is worn
but,...

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Kant komment keener
Loony labour greens and teals
Liberal loosers
Rorts and squeals..Alphabet soup
They they can't connect.'
Their voice was rejected.'
Whars up next? 
Reckless toothles renewable fuels
Concocted by morons, and peddled
By fools.' Elbows comrades gather round
Theres Michelle Rowland as...

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Backing my hips against white painted bricks
While stupid ass men dance with stupid ass chicks
They act like Adonis, which isn’t that honest
They’re trying their best ‘pulling’ tricks

I came in with Les who hopes to impress
A...

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Tis' life I bring to my garden gate
On a palette of colors by my front door
Each day I can play as I cultivate
Many blooms I have spawned as a grower

Many suns, many moons have sweated...

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The Dignity Of It All

Don’t look me in the eye
Don’t look at me and sigh
Or shake your head and wonder why

As I walk along the street
Ensuring our eyes never meet
I frown, and look down at...

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Alternating with awe and amazement
Belief breathes blessings, brilliant and bright
Calming, creative and colorful – so calm
Dreaming of dainty, delicate delights
Endlessly eager to eliminate evil
Friendly and full of feelings so faithful
Graceful, giving, glorifying God
Hopeful, heartening, a...

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Has anyone ever seen the fertile Felix Ager,
which the Romans called, " The happy land?
Along the astonishing coastline are found:
the odorous lemon, orange and pine trees
that overlook the limpid and calm Tyrrean sea!
Feel the warmest...

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I thought I knew you, William Kane.
No sooner did my world begin
Than you were peering down at me
And I acknowledged you as kin.

I thought I knew you, William Kane,
No matter how thick your disguise.
I was...

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There’s no snow to be had around here;
But it is somewhat cold and I wonder;
What would it be like;
To be given the title of Grandfather.
I think it’s like;
Never having spoken the words;
Hello mother.
It’s not going...

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UNCLAIMED FREIGHT

I offered myself to you - Rejected many for you, made myself
Exclusively yours - You never understood that I was not here
To endure jealousy, hate or envy –
Only to serve you and teach you...

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