Long Merit Poems

Pagans Protest the Intolerance of Christianity
by Michael R. Burch

“We have a common sky.” — Quintus Aurelius Symmachus

We had a common sky
before the Christians came.

We thought there might be gods
but did not know their names.

The common...

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What fills your goals, son?

I told you!
Need to get my car rolling [life rolling, love rolling]
yesterday,
if not today...

If I may interrupt
to process mindful resilience
for a bit...

Let me ask again:
Noticing you are concerned about long-winded
and -winding
and...

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Various Heresies 6

Altared Spots
by Michael R. Burch

The mother leopard buries her cub,
then cries three nights for his bones to rise
clad in new flesh, to celebrate the sunrise.

Good mother leopard, pensive thought
and fiercest love’s wild insurrection
yield...

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Political Science is the compare and contrast study
of governing authority powers
with concomitant economic responsibilities,
and...um...opportunities,
speaking perhaps too candidly.

Why not other powers,
nutritional loves that can be owned only cooperatively,
can be, and would like to become, health invested,
but...

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What I have for you today is not so much about re-treading an outdated fuel-based system--
little bit like reshuffling the chairs to fix the decay 
of a segregating Country Club.

No, this is addressed to economic...

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Thus it begins—
A free-verse epic
Into the mind of
A writer and an idiot—
A romantic and, 
Often a pessimist
Conjoined in arbitrary glory
Are the thoughts and words 
Of one overly-worked mind—
Charismatic and, of course,
On the pushover, pitiful
And usually...

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"How Huxley Sees the World"



He composes his world -
dream extractions
simulated from 
the surreal reality of man
colour cognitive from the dead moments
we phantomise to life in sleep
electric light colour bursts forth 
from a perspective unique
a hare...

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It's weird
and sometimes wild
living with a non-LeftBrain verbal dominant
aspiring child,
now young adult

I find myself waiting for him
to nonverbally connect
and correct me
about my patriarchal domineering
economic and political ableist sins
of felt omission from commercial value
and, perhaps worse,
my...

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I believe that I am..., but I dare ask the question.                        ...

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Let’s say the number 1
iconically speaks in Left-Yang Universal Language,
root of ecosystemetrics,

while PlaceHolder (0)
bicamerally dreams in Right-YinDiPolar ReGenerative PolyCultural Action,
health-flow of autonomic, enthymematic thought and awareness
influenced by feelings of EarthCentric  BiCameral Consciousness
as Plan A,
so...

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I.Jesus Spoke to His Father

Jesus spoke to His Heavenly Father
Raising up to heaven His ardent pray’r
With deep bleeding wounds that he’d all endured,
Still hang on the cross to make our soul pure.
Words He uttered were...

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This brisk, sunny March morning, I return from delivering my son to his adult daycare van.  

Upon opening The Norwich Times, I delight to read the new Center for Safe Futures "will be taking...

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Thiru-Valluvar on Praising the Good Qualiities of Ladies: Canto 112 - Nalam Pinainththu Uraiththal

[The poet devotes the third part of his treatise, the Thiruk-Kural to INBATHTHUPPAAL, the amorous relationship between the sexes, i.e.,  cantos...

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My thing is,
Yang dear,
EarthMother
is much RNA-green older
than mammalian red-DNA Yang.

Yes,
seniority breeds long-term nutritious merit,
I remember this history lesson
from your creation by fairy tale,
how WinWin Paradise YinYin
wonder invited Yang's Patriarchal CoPresence.

Well said,
dearest,
which is exactly why EarthMother
needed...

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Captain kuni-lemel graduate strikes again - updated

Steely Dan sing queen (me)
outdid himself on sixtieth anniversary 
after Grahame Wood 
determined to meet 
the evolving needs of the community 
opened the first Wawa Food Market 
in Folsom,...

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REVOLUTION
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS


A revolution is much deeper than what the eye can see 
An opportunity to rid the land of despotism and tyranny
When any citizen can expose the enemies of the state
Present and judge valid...

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"The Unlit Flame at Blue Feather’s Cross Roads"



Words these days are seldom Red
like drops of lifeless blood falling cold on a hot frying pan,
sentences are scattered, stuck in Go Nowhereland,
semi-solid, immovable coagulating gelatinous, turning dark...

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remains the pain within the dark
A song so soft of love and heart
Yet, holes this deep leave their mark
Like life's sorrowed canvas art

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     “Elf King,” said DynDoeth, “Erlenkönig means Elf King.”
Joulupukki...

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We all feel like
dying to get out of here
at least sometimes;
a meeting
a relationship
a job
a car or bus or airplane
a house or apartment
a nation or state
a Party or clan
a faith community or PTA.

This is about the...

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The world that unfolds before me is unknown, but for some reason it is mine. Yes.
Anyone could say that my life is monotonous. But not. I protest. This is not true. Only mine.
No one just...

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The old man stood;elbows resting on the old stone wall
Wistfully he gazed over the snow laden field,
Watching the sheep nibble on bales of hay,
He thought back remembering his working day.

In his leather like work hardened...

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It is my Taoist maxim
HereYang is
Where Yintegrity of SilentNow.

In my TaoSearch mission,
I reach an outside summer vulnerable peak
at YinNow
when we revolt into people
who transparently unveil
We long to vulnerably heal
cooperative Yang
as more competitive YinFlow
fractured revolutionary nuts

In...

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We could speak together,
Decry rabid violence of chronically stressed kids
and young adults acting like kids,
apparently regardless of income or race;
perhaps not of enculturation.

Feeling claustrophobic,
anxious about an unpromising competitive future,
drowning in inch-deep and narrow boxed-in mentoring...

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A child lights our way in life...
The greatest gift there is to be.
They suppress our selfish inclinations...
They set our passions free.

They give sense to our mortality.
They put narcissism in its place.
With a child... you're a...

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How much simpler
and yet vastly more complex,
diversely resonant,
past decisions to hire the credentialed professional elite
also choices not to hire a charismatic
brown-skinned
ecofeminist,

And how much more resilient
urgently cooperative
corporate win/win covenant repercussions might have been
if we stopped compartmentalizing,
and...

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