Long Lingered Poems

When you came to me...

Not that you wanted me.  Oh, no!  It was I who wanted you,
Your comfort... your caring... your
... compassion, your compassion...
Your body, beautiful and young, perhaps that as well at...

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Juvenilia: Early Poems XI

Myth
by Michael R. Burch

after the sprung rhythm of Dylan Thomas

Here the recalcitrant wind
sighs with grievance and remorse
over fields of wayward gorse
and thistle-throttled lanes.

And she is the myth of the scythed wheat
hewn and...

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Sonnets XLII-LI

Distances
by Michael R. Burch

Moonbeams on water?
the reflected light
of a halcyon star
now drowning in night...
So your memories are.

Footprints on beaches
now flooding with water;
the small, broken ribcage
of some primitive slaughter...
So near, yet so far.



A Surfeit of...

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World War II Poems and Holocaust Poems - VI - Chaim Nachman Bialik, Erich Fried

After My Death
by Chaim Nachman Bialik
translation by Michael R. Burch

Say this when you eulogize me: 
Here was a man—now, poof, he's...

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FORTUNES READ the sign displayed
TRINKETS, CHARMS AND SPELLS
The store had not been here yesterday
shades of candles, books and bell
Drapes were hung from side to side
The windows all were dark
Where was this place a day ago?
Just...

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Juvenilia: Early Poems by Michael R. Burch



Desdemona
by Michael R. Burch

Though you possessed the moon and stars,
you are bound to fate and wed to chance.
Your lips deny they crave a kiss;
your feet deny they ache to...

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The Mirror

When I look in the mirror I don’t see me, I see who I used to be.  A little lost girl that was so abused and so misused, so ashamed of who she...

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Each of the new deer adjusted quickly to the pace of the ones they had been paired with, and the sleigh tracked smooth and true.  The effects of the extra four deer were easily...

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WINTER, 1948 [40 Saxton Street]

for W.W

The winter nights that pass now
are so unlike the winter nights
that passed before, that I often
struggle back in those suspended moments
when sleep grapples for a hold,
to once again hear the...

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I saw how martyrs longed for love, and so began the play of my flitting heart
A strange girl had I become, with airs of fickle dream,
My heart an embodiment of wonder to all that dared...

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Date:  April 2041

It's been one week now. There
Was no sign of the Black China 
Men. The other Hakim family 
Members decided to take residence 
Closer to the foundational family.
Which was Greatgrand and 
Carter Hakim...

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This is a very long poem and I will understand if you choose not to spend the time reading it. 
It is something I wrote a long time ago and I thought I’d just put...

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stared at the two passionate lines for the longest time,
       what I wrote ..I created ... as if in a trance, as if in a surreal dream ..
 ...

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For several years I'd worked as a life coach, assisting clients day by day,
Like blazing colors in the shank of the evening, chases deep blues away.

It was an occupation that I enjoyed, as helping others...

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To witness no trace of a step, that has lingered beneath the dewy lush grass.
Then to gaze upon greatest glory! While creation unfolds right in front of you.
Revealing its treasured secrets, while you stand stunned,...

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It was just one of those splendid days, which held no excitement;
Moreover it required none, for in its stillness, I was content.

Lying on the forest green grass, luxurious blue skies in my eyes,
Summer winds brought...

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Pasha Acremodios grew greedy,
discontented with the domain he dominated,
so he turned covetous eyes toward Farabia,
sending his soldiers to seize this ripened plum

Spoiling for a fight and fighting for spoils,
his army swept across Farabia
like a bloody...

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“Without you, now I see
How fragile the world can be
And I know you've gone away,
But in my heart you'll always stay”  –Katie Melua


There is a peculiar feeling I remember experiencing when the news came
...

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For so long I have fought my monsters in the war lands. For so long I’ve been by myself in the wake of my chaos. Others tried to stand beside but shortly fell or shortly...

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APRIL 2024-
Hours passed as 3 month old
Damian Junior slept. Dolly and
Molly Reminisced and thought
about the future and the pass about 
Damian and Their families. 
Dolly checked  The time saying
 "Damian will be Here in...

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When I was five, I asked the Lord…
To please protect my mom, my world
He whispered to my soul, “I will”
And went on to protect her from pain
From worry, doubt, fear and depression
From all the things...

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Into the woods we ventured, where darkness began to encircle us,
Their ancient murmurs mingling with the forest’s ominous chorus.
A chilling breeze, as if the very breath of the woods sighed,
Veiled in tempestuous clouds, the stars...

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In twilight's realm, where moonbeams entwine,
Two owls engaged in a contrast of minds:
A Great Horned Owl, proud and strong,
And a Great Gray Owl, cunning and long.

Amidst the trees, their feathers shone,
"Who is the wisest?" their...

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As we know, sometimes we can see the big picture by peeking through a keyhole. And in America today perhaps we can see better the state of innocence among young children by looking at a...

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After picnicking in a pretty meadow, on a warm and sunny day,
I relaxed upon my soft blanket, and fell asleep where I lay.

When I awoke I took a walk, through the grass and flowers,
Lined on...

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