Long Navigated Poems

Epitaph for a Palestinian Child
by Michael R. Burch

I lived as best I could, and then I died.
Be careful where you step: the grave is wide.



Autumn Conundrum
by Michael R. Burch

It's not that every leaf must finally...

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I cry at baptisms, funerals,  and touchy movies. There are more                       ...

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Age defiant was this spruce and spirited citizen slinking blithely past the burgundy red doors of her enigmatic country dwelling.
As her olive skin neatly curved fingers 
slid over an intermittently scratched carbon black handrail she...

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Blind Man’s Five-Legged Dog Rap 

Yo, gather 'round the table, let me spin you a tale, 'Bout a blind man named Benny, he was never frail. Owned a dog with five legs, yeah, you heard...

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Kitchen counters alive; the vivid colors of red, green, purple and yellow glass jars. Your garden flourished.
.
Pickled beets mingle boiled eggs; a pretty periwinkle purple.
.
Yellow and purple tinted fingers; dandelions and elderberries distilling; musty aroma...

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The school year’s ending.  ‘Spring Fling’ is tonight (Saturday) the biggest event (concert) of the year, and next week - final exams. It’s hard to believe that I’ll be a senior in about 2...

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At the request of none,
Nor the behest of any, except for me.
But it's more than a guess that he has
Contributed to the success of my life.

I sat with an aged man when I, but a...

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When heinous fangs
of life drain
the amethyst glow
flowing above 
infected ripples of time,
I question the 
chaos that claims
serenity through 
saline serenade 
of sirens, composed 
with midnight ink
across a mazed face 
of a starless canvas,
What if these...

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I was a famous, American actress, who adored performing for live audiences,
In stage plays, both modern and classic, like velvet time, which often rushes.

Rose acclaim filled long, chaotic days, of colorful masquerades and fulfillment,
Like Sleeping...

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I was an experienced astrologer, for wandering stars held much fascination,
Luring in opal darkness of mystery, like beautiful butterfly transformations.

My days were spent charting pretty planets, alongside of faint, pearly stars,
Interpreting their effects on humans,...

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Chapter 12d (The Fireflower cont.)

As they held their breath and waited 
For a flame to catch the fire flowers 
Finally a smoky ribbon
Drifted upwards from the petals
 
Gradually the flowers smouldered
And a filmy smoke ascended
With an aromatic odour
As...

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Chapter 13d

Yet at length he reawakened 
As if in another lifetime 
Han discerned a sound and movement 
Stiffly rose to look about him

And he saw his precious Matto
Crouching near him in the vessel!
That was now...

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This struggling accomplished path winds,
Spiral like stairs leading us to the point;
Average wingedhipsters today more like
Displaced thugs. With no sense.
At every corner, we're speaking rigorous
Reminders.

That we all eventually yawn.your wombs

America, I'm wore out, worrying about
This...

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And then I took this box of blight, and cast it into the sea of forgetfulness

Once I had finally realized, that it had become a Pandora unto myself....

A portal of passage towards darkness' infiltering of...

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Francie ran to check on Donny as soon as the shaking stopped.He was curled on his side so deep in sleep he had slept right through it all.She scooped him up resolving they would not...

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PLATO EPIGRAM TRANSLATIONS

These epitaphs and other epigrams have been ascribed to Plato...

Mariner, do not ask whose tomb this may be,
But go with good fortune: I wish you a kinder sea.
—Michael R. Burch, after Plato

We left...

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I once heard a song with the words, "Above us only sky".                       ...

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Five gray, silver, and white haired crones
Navigated slimy green stones
Like tight rope walkers
Having been summoned by the wind talkers
They crossed a shallow creek
Each feeble and weak
They entered consecrated woods
Wearing cloaks and hoods
Upon awareness of being...

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A Debutante’s Ball to Remember

In the autumn of my life, oft have I recalled that superb summer night,
when I finally experienced my long-awaited heart’s delight.
Family and close friends were all ready for my entry into...

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My mother is a river. 
Not a calm, deep river, lush with fish and plants, flowing by gently and powerfully...but 
a thick, white rapids, furiously polishing the jagged rocks into marbles. 
There is no room...

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When we planned our road trip we set up with Budget 
that a Toyota Corolla would be waiting for us in Seattle
but after standing in line for 2 hours…I was a little rattled

When Budget ran...

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Don't let fear or pride stand in the way of love. We don't get endless opportunities to find love. 

Be inspired by this song. Feel love. Feel strong. Be free. 

We could've been us
By Michelle...

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A poem I shall attempt to write of heavenly delight,
About all the wonders that shine deep in the night.

There is so much more than the Moon and stars above,
From the earliest navigators that fell heavily...

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Written: August 24, 2023
______________________________________________________________

Where oceans meet, the edge of the sky,
I cast bones onto a pyre, flames soaring high.
In this realm of dreams, where reality suspends,
I find solace amidst blazing amaranth trends.

The exposed palette of...

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And then the blunders of the past merged into serenity. Tranquility 
ensued where wild storms had been raging.‘Safe travels’, they whispered 
‘now you’re prepared and able to let go.’ The past became a beacon and...

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