Long Marvel Poems

Village in the Valley left behind, and then it's a fine find
Mountain in the making...in the dark alleys of my mind

You're a flashlight
In the night
You are a friend 
Till the end
Bite the bullet
You're the village...

Read More

I often surprise many people in many ways
With the words I say…with the actions I make…
It’s extraordinary how many seek high praise
With the words they say…with the actions they fake…

Neither will I…
Assume the worst in...

Read More

Charles d'Orleans: a Medieval Marvel


Spring
by Charles d’Orleans (c. 1394-1465)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Young lovers,
greeting the spring
fling themselves downhill,
making cobblestones ring
with their wild leaps and arcs,
like ecstatic sparks
struck from coal.

What is their brazen goal?

They grab...

Read More

Dolly was beside herself with thoughts 
Of this powerful man,  Damian Possessing 
Her.  She wandered around his
Spacious apartment before 
Returning to his bedroom 
to sit on his bed. 
Damian was ready and dressed...

Read More

Dear Novice Poet,
Welcome to the wide open wonderful world of poetry!  Today more than ever before, a poem can easily be whatever you want it to be.  The rules are simple.  There...

Read More

Poems about Children II



On Looking into Curious George’s Mirrors
by Michael R. Burch

for Maya McManmon, granddaughter of the poet Jim McManmon

Maya was made in the image of God;
may the reflections she sees in those curious mirrors
always...

Read More

I heard two distinct voices in the night,
Conversing amongst themselves most eagerly
They whispered like children in excitement
Their sardonic mouths sung many savvy tunes
It was Death I could perceive, defending me,
And he, a strange, distant friend
Seemed...

Read More

Toddlers' Exploration: 

Cardboard drum, a thunderous beast,
Playful roars in tiny fists and feasts.
Fleeting wings glide, dreams just out of reach,
Soaring through tales of barnyard Waddles and Squeaks,
Moo! Quack! Giggles tumble and bump.
Flaps flapping, bright colors...

Read More

I’m A “Street Fighter” 
You see the “Wings” CHUN 
LI
“BRUCE WAYNE”
 “LEROY”
“LU”
KAME
“THE LAST DRAGON BREATHS”
You don’t want “NUN”-CHUCK
NORE IS ANY ENTITY
Check my IP MAN
my Impulse 
 “Ki”
I’m the “1ONE” Fearless 
Jackie’s First Strike “Unleashed”
In a...

Read More

'You've thrown me over the edge of the highest peaked cliff imaginable
As I spiral further down, my outer shell gets roughed up
by sticks and stones
until my body is disfigured beyond recognition
as if I'd been torn...

Read More

"I am a painter and my eyes are the paint brushes I had if I look up with my open eye I see the Horizon I see the clouds to be continued
Oh shutter as I...

Read More

The Spaniel

A Spaniel that uses its head 
Can tell when its owner’s unfed 
So instead of a duck
That is down on its luck 
Will deliver a pizza instead
 
The Afghan Hound

The Afghan’s a dog groomer’s...

Read More

MICHELANGELO: Modern English Translations

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is considered by many experts to be the greatest artist and sculptor of all time. These are modern English translations of his poems and epigrams by Michael R. Burch.



SONNET:...

Read More

I went out for the newspaper at the usual time this morning, shortly after 5AM, (yes, I'm one of the "odd few" who still enjoys the crisp feel of a morning paper in my hands),...

Read More

III.
Then he did say; 
"And all of the power
of all of the prayers
of all of the dreams
of all of the people
who suffered and died that forgotten day,
are now contained in the very sword you carry
at...

Read More

NA Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Ink Empress


                          Temporary Travellers
 
 ...

Read More

March 18-27

This time I woke, 
He was staring readily,
Smiling, plotting steadily

I lifted my body and gently gazed at his grotesque beauty
He was always at his best in thought…

“You look ravishing…” He began. 
“Mouth-parched, crusty-eyed, hair...

Read More

It has been long,

I wish for your voice once more.

I   write this letter to tell that;

Sometimes the sun does shine,

But things will never be the same.

I am still keeping your favorite suit,

Hoping  that  one day...

Read More

Her cognition is sporadic
Longing for her to relax
And display calm tactics
Lay on my chest like it’s a hammock
When she isn't calm
I can't stand it
Cause behaviors like these in women
Can easily become habits
It won't happen to...

Read More

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...

Read More

Christ!
A warparty of 60 Shoshone warriors has just stampeded into the meadow
faces painted red and white for blood and death, all sorts of strange designs,
bows and arrows ready to fly on us, skull breaking cudgels...

Read More

They say the one you think of last before sleep,
Is the one you care for the most— the one you wish to hold, admire, love…

The two of us…beings of bravery,
Had labored all the night, 
In...

Read More

*

  Up until the summer of 1999, I only knew of the words "Jesus."
  I knew what was being taught in church.
  As I sat in the pew, I heard the Bible...

Read More

*****************************************

The First Gathering, The Wrath, The Return Of Zeus
( "Wherein Fate and Destiny Reign Over Blind Worship )


Else the throngs of mortals find the truth,
 
teeming in the angry hordes they may,
 
forget to pay...

Read More

Wounded soul, I see you, I tell you you’re in the light,
As you writhe in unknown torment and live in fright of the night,
I see you feeling lost and discarded, as though no one sheds...

Read More