Long Moaning Poems

Somehow, 
Forward, and headlong
I knew it was day again

There was a shift in the dark mutterings of the Devil,
Who now refused to sleep as I refused to sing,
Almost an anticipation in his voice,
As if he...

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“Éagmais croí a dhíscaoileadh ar gach eagla.
Faoi dhíon taobh istigh de na blianta seo.
Fanacht i bhfianaise, a dhíscaoileadh ar gach eagla.
Ós rud é go ndearnadh tú a chaitheamh.
Briseadh an tost seo”



"An Bee Cailleach"


She lives to...

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No Mark
by Michael R. Burch

A wave implodes, 
impaled upon
impassive rocks...

this evening
the thunder of the sea
is a wild music filling my ear...

you are leaving
and the ungrieving
winds demur...

telling me
that nothing returns
as it was before...

here where you have...

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Medieval Poems



Deor's Lament (Anglo Saxon poem, circa 10th century AD)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Weland knew the agony of exile.
That indomitable smith was wracked by grief.
He endured countless troubles:
sorrows were his only companions
in his frozen...

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Alone I arrive, walking from Frederick
over the gaps, across gentle hills
out onto a knoll
overlooking this burnished landscape.
Before me I see countless writhing rows
of indiscernible shapes gathered
in terrible rituals mid fire and smoke
darkening the sun.
From distant...

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Year One -

Tell me Eve,
does this Garden have everything we need,
do you think the walls are too tall,
are the gatekeepers reasonable, tolerable, right about it all,
what did Lilith know, where did she go
far past the...

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Prizes for Ultimate Sacrifices


    prizes for the abstemious  for abstinence  chastity ?
                 the countless...

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“This will come to an end now,” Rian demanded!  Joulupukki nudged Dyndoeth and glanced at the crystals in each corner of the ceiling. He saw the elf begin to tense.  He also noticed...

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A prawn masquerading as a peanut can be quite disturbing. So many times a peel is a garment used to shroud. A tentacle hidden. Here and there. Then to reappear with an often violent burst...

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Of Ghosts and fiends in Twilight, Cont.


A thought flashed in my mind from the old tales told
The lore of the beast and I had felt his foul breath
I had seconds to act or be devoured...

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DIARY NOTES : Mad-House Maths

March 30th., 2018 - Another day sets in Paris

The home-bound Octogenarian trundles from the Mall's town centre
Back laden with the day's shopping
His hands numb from clutching load-packed plastic bags during the...

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**Trigger Warning**



"I Knew Anne Silently - My Ravenous Poe" 

I knew Anne.
you’d think 
with a name like hers
she’d be able to find her way 
out of unchartered waters.

it didn’t come as a suprise, 
then, on...

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An Excelente Balade of Charitie (“An Excellent Ballad of Charity”)
by Thomas Chatterton, age 17
modernization/translation by Michael R. Burch

As wroten bie the goode Prieste
Thomas Rowley 1464

In Virgynë the swelt'ring sun grew keen,
Then hot upon the meadows...

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The day was fine and sunlit,
Decorated by several clouds 
drifting aimlessly in the radiant ocean-blue sky.
Chorused by gentle puffs of the morning breeze,
Sending leaves on the streets twirling like
ballerinas in a dazzling and mesmerising dance.
and...

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The day was fine and sunlit, Decorated by several clouds drifting 
     aimlessly in the radiant ocean-blue sky. Chorused by gentle 
         ...

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I cannot stop laughing at the soldier acting
I cannot stop laughing at the soldier gasping
Every time I turned around he is looking on the ground
Hiding under the communist cap with the features of a pussycat
If...

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Ancient sinister fires dwell in the savage creator's eye,
Soon his fire starter will be coming for a second try,
Choosing to believe, that which cannot be seen cannot be rude,
A cloak and dagger God who spies...

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Ancient sinister fires dwell in the savage creator's eye,
Soon his fire starter will be coming for a second try,
Choosing to believe, that which cannot be seen cannot be rude,
A cloak and dagger God who spies...

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I awoke the next day, with a soft smile,
Not awakened by the screeching and the moaning of the demons beside,
But of the intense breathing of my collaborator,
Crouching above me, glaring me down with eyes abhorred
Though...

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Date:   April  2051
Damian Molly Continuation 
Dolly and Molly had a plan to complete 
Their exploration before the trip home
In another two days, Molly reported 
This to Damian. As they comforted
Each other in...

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Dancing In Horror With Fate In Blackest Abyss
Collaboration with Kurt Ravidas

I walk mountain storm, step out to cut deep its edge
forever tempting that fall from its narrow ledge,
in the midst of ravenous rage and great...

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Dancing In Horror With Fate In Blackest Abyss 
Collaboration with Robert J. Lindley 

I walk mountain storm, step out to cut deep its edge
forever tempting that fall from its narrow ledge,
in the midst of ravenous...

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I know what it costs
to parent a tyrant
24/7
52 weeks/year
and yet avoid judging,
feeling guilty,
self-blaming shame
for all I am not sufficient,
yet.

I remember learning curious distinctions
between genuine remorse
given, when LeftBrain verbally requested,
yet without RightBrain capacity
to feel even the...

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But we of the Three Tribes live undiscovered 
   In the reverberating stillness of the 
 Three Gorges...
And are therefore unknown to the warring mongol;
    His impassioned lusts -- his...

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(1.)
Beware, Nightmarish Dreams Are Oft By Raven Sent,
(In Tribute To Edgar Allen Poe)

When incantations stoke fiery embers,
eerie nights, their sounds roust to remember
ghosts of yesteryears, so birthed to dark play
within nightmarish dreams, as monsters slay.

Around...

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