Long Moonflower Poems

Sonnets LII-LX

The Endeavors of Lips
by Michael R. Burch

How sweet the endeavors of lips: to speak
of the heights of those pleasures which left us weak
in love’s strangely lit beds, where the cold springs creak:
for there is...

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A Vain Word
by Michael R. Burch

Oleanders at dawn preen extravagant whorls
as I read in leaves’ Sanskrit brief moments remaining
till sunset implodes, till the moon strands grey pearls
under moss-stubbled oaks, full of whispers, complaining
to the darkening...

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Dream-worker 
delves deeply into my dream;

vibrations fondle anticipation
foreplay wakes wide-eyed 
swells of liquid libido quake the rendezvous edge -
a primordial being in his prime
a masculine ego quest for affaire d’amour;
her night-loving body 
c h a...

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In glamor-light of sunset
a new crowd of cumulus clouds arrive
and revive a sepia sky-scene—
unworldly woolgatherers gather
spinning fantasy fluff into quixotic yarns
of debutantes dancing with honeymoon hunger;
their dewy eyes blurred by the sawdust of stardust

pseudo-princess-pleasure-seekers
—drama daring...

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I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
In the depth of the night, when the veil of darkness covers the world like a regal...

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Life shattered, soul crushed, another one has perished 
once gone from this world was all she ever cherished
No amazing and joyful tales to tell the kids
just naked silence, from raging of black rapids
From heavens above,...

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Speak
by Faiz Ahmad Faiz
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Speak, while your lips are still free.
Speak, while your tongue remains yours.
Speak, while you're still standing upright.
Speak, while your spirit has force.

See how, in the bright-sparking forge,...

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As the peacock-sage 
waves of whimsical peace
faded in silence's 
pale watercolors, 
I masked my 
eerie eyelashes, 
with drifting 
angel-mist smog. 
For, I sensed the 
wistful wailings of 
ambrosial lilies, 
encased in my 
heart's crystal casket,...

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Moon flower

You lay on white cotton sheets with the hospital logo imprinted
on the cloth and on the fabric of your life talcum powder for
your bed sores anorexic washed out gastric spittle dribbling
from ulcerous mouth facing...

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Written: January 26, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Sara Jama
Quote by Geoffrey Chaucer "Time and tide wait for no man,"
               ...

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"Cruel birds—ravens—but wise. And creatures should be loved for their wisdom if they cannot be loved for kindness."
- Hannah Kent


My lover's demons are like ravenous ravens.
Her love is a hand grenade triggering exploding emotions,
massacring words...

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Love Was Sent, Treasure That Healed Two Crushed Hearts, 
A Collaboration with Susan Ashley
 
Life shattered, soul crushed, another one has perished 
once gone from this world was all she ever cherished
No amazing and joyful...

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These are nature poems about unusual plants like the moonflower and agave.



Moonflower
by Michael R. Burch

after Robert Hayden

Marveling,
we at last beheld the achieved flower—
both awed and repelled by its alienness,
its moonlit petals,
its cloying fragrance,
its transcendence,
its shimmering...

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Ahh! my lovely it's to soon;
To say I love you moon spoon;
It was the 1960's moonshots;
I fell in love with you I was lost;
While at home I peer through my curtains;
It's about 8:45pm at night;
Oh,...

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On the naming of a child
Certain protocols should be followed by the registrar

Protocol one

If the chosen name is Rainbow or Honey dew
Then firstly the parents should be slapped
And given a book containing sensible names
This process...

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My muse opens my eyes to starlight, when in darkness I would cower.  
                    ...

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How wicked the tricks of your serpent’s lair
a lingual place of wild mango magic behind caliente lips
where a supple sensualist lies in seductive ambush
rum on the rocks spices flesh bed of your taste buds
libation temptation...

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I found it endearing, the crazy look to her virile flare!
Like she was an Angel sent from above.
With 
Love's Tigered Eyed stare-
that appeared as a releasing of Doves, 
through a ring of fire.
It appears it...

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Ah, luminous white she blooms a deceptive ghost  
lover of dark arts of charisma and night
moon seducer  logic diffuser  defense reducer  
user of dreams  abuser of romance
tempter-serpent twines and vines...

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Dear Calliope, muse and faithful advisor,
and ancient goddess, a poet's treasure.
She guides my words, for hers are wiser
with perception far beyond all measure.
We paint images; a pen is our brush.  
Crumbled pages lie all...

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Flowing through my heart’s hesitant beat, rhythms of light – graceful and quiet, reminding me why I can always find peace in the garden, where I’ve found blessings as wild and free as the aching...

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In the middle of deep dark woods
Beneath the clumsy, capricious clouds
A wacky, wiggly passage leads
To a captivating, cavernous ground

There dwells a divine dreamy Ipomoea__
With the sunset, she gets herself unwrap__
To brew with love, in her...

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I …

am provenience …
the heel of my father’s foot -
the damp of his brow
and his burgeon …
I am my mother’s bloom
sown in the soil of her intentions
seeded with wonder
and promise …
but some petals unfurl only...

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To Flower
by Michael R. Burch
 
When Pentheus ["grief'] went into the mountains in the garb of the baccae, his mother [Agave] and the other maenads, possessed by Dionysus, tore him apart (Euripides, Bacchae; Apollodorus 3.5.2;...

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My Dream Date Over A Moonflower 

 
She be a Toyota amongst Ferraris

Nondescript, simple, garden variety

A book with a plain cover

Yet with pages that intrigue

Pages that enlighten

And raises my eyebrows

And especially

A book that I can't...

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