Long Limpid Poems

R.I.P.
by Michael R. Burch

When I am lain to rest
and my soul is no longer intact, 
but dissolving, like a sunset
diminishing to the west...

and when at last
before His throne my past
is put to test
and the demons...

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The Rhine Salmon Complaint, Translation of Etiemble’s Complainte d’un salmon du Rhin

						For Yvon Belaval
(A lilting musical poem of varying line length in quatrains with a refrain and much internal
 rhyming; end-rhyme scheme: alternate rhymes in...

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The sun, resplendent in its blazing might,
Burns fiercely o'er a barren, lifeless waste,
A desert dry and vast where earth is scorched
By searing radiation, deathly bright.
No sign of life but one lone phoenix flies,
Soaring precarious, close...

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I am feeling the shock of fast change. How to cope with it is of course the question. Listen to Beethoven through the neighbor's window? Look up from the page? Appreciate doves even though they...

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The sunshine and singing birds, awoke me that fine day;
And warmth caressed my face, as the wrens began to play.

I stretched luxuriantly in my bed, while smiling broadly,
At the gaiety of beautiful summer, in all...

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(oh, mercy ... )

amazing eye whites,
perfect and pure as glacial ice -
they draw me in,
like diving into a clear Caribbean lagoon,
fluid and cool ...
brown iris so dark in contrast,
that they're lost in the inky black...

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I was a minister of the gospel, very happily living my life for the Lord,
Preaching the Word every Sunday, in the spirit of affinity and accord.

I always knew that I would preach, for I had...

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Sometimes
When we have a loving relationship
Life gets in the way
The pressures of work money worries
Piles of unpaid bills
Not enough time for each other
The relationship erodes and folds
You try but you go separate ways

When we were...

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I so adored late hours. I was what you would call a night owl,
As fireflies seldom appear, until creamy moon is on the prowl.

I loved the quiet and peacefulness, and staring at a big moon,
Just...

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Of all of the beautiful seasons, I like summertime the best.
As with blooms, greenery, and bird talk, it is richly blest.

When comes dazzlingly warm weather, life moves out of doors,
For the gardens we vacated in...

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As we stand hand in hand
As the wings of LOVE
enfold our hearts as ONE
under the arboresque 
Majesty Of LOVE
Utterly at the ineffable abode
Under the trellis bower of our hearts
As the innocent image of LOVE
emanate clearly...

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Birdwatching had become for me, such pleasurable summertime hobby,
So I was often among the trees, young ones or those old and knobby. 

I chased rose finches at dawn, and the yellow warblers come noon,
Scarlet flycatchers...

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I was an active, vibrant, happy person, and I was captivated by the moon,
In the way that summer lovers, are ofttimes charmed by romantic  tunes.

Since early childhood, I had been enamored, of that limpid,...

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Your devoted adoring Loving hands
Shields the abyss with trance
in utter bewilderment
As every hand is first an apprentice 
That slaves beneath The Temple Of LOVE
Your Loving hands have valor and daring
to weave my sorrow into a...

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I would have sought some beautiful retreat,
Remote from cities and the din of men, ~
Some tranquil shore where lake and forest meet
By limpid stream or flower-lit, sylvan glen,
And would have reared, where non could e'er...

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stones
by michael r. burch


i.
far below me lies a village
with its houses hewn from stone
and though Everyman who lives there
bravely claims he’s not alone,
i can tell him, yes u are!
for u cannot touch the stars
no matter...

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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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Continued from Part 1

Hungary hounds harangue the highlands,
howl at skies and desert islands…
Below, unfettered carbon crows conceal the parting path she chose

Lighthouse lamps and lanterns lolling…
Mute abandoned fleets are calling…
The shallow shadowed portholes vaunt dim...

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The problem is her lips.
They don't form smiles any more than waves decide of their own accord 
to lift themselves up off of the ocean's surface.
And if lips are meant to be drowsy shutters
then hers...

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With trepidation, loneliness, and fear,
I called to you 
And you lived pristinely
You lived in my heart 

I heard their mystical, sage voices cry out
“The one you seek is coming,
Oh so soon is he coming!
And what...

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Stranger ; the slight neglect 
of conversation has passed 
	as Tempest. 
& the Desert is silent , and pure 
For nothing thou will find but bones and dust.
	Nor will a Lover be 
	by Reason then,...

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Your walk away into the echoing stillness
Of a crimson autumn sunset
Gently stepping over the leaf-strewn forest floor
As withered leaves under your feet
Bid you soft and gentle adieu.

The wild blossoms by your wayside smile
And lend you...

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Resemblance
by Michael R. Burch

Take this geode with its rough exterior—
crude-skinned, brilliant-hearted ...
a diode of amethyst—wild, electric;
its sequined cavity—parted, revealing.
Find in its fire all brittle passion,
each jagged shard relentlessly aching.
Each spire inward—a fission startled;
in its shattered...

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As the end of a long day now approaches
Like a candle flame almost spent
The sun and its expanding rays
Now hides away with contempt

With stealth and silence,
The light of day starts To dim
And the harsh realms...

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All people see is what they put in their minds 
And what they put on their heads is being controlled
But who cares? We are living in an imaginary world
An imaginary world that is totally created...

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