Long Obsequious Poems

"Kaleidoscope" 

They say another
wrote the story, not I.
that I, mere I,
having little experience, shy 
and far removed from 
such an alien world,
would not possess the knowledge
of such terrible and ruthless, lusty 
characters of strong will;...

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Thump-thump of stiffening fish contorting
   In the bilge beneath the gunwale; 
 Lidless, bulging, reddened eyes, swivelling upwards, 
Protruding horribly from the straining sockets,
    Express stupefied amazement at inconceivable 
...

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Hearthstone Of Thy Fathers Love
Fatherhood exuberant and renowned is how you boys made me feel.
Exquisite was the taste of my tears as I felt the sensation of joy in both of your first cry’s!
The days,...

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Oceans and Winds

I have an obsequious unnatural inclination
To sustain my external compulsions 
And convert them to a pre-text of a sub-text
Of instantaneous conclusions
Bi-Partisan confusions, melted humans and rheuminations
We seem to be caught up in the...

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I asked her
do you believe that as soon as any man walks into a room and he’s eyes fall so completely upon someone like you he can fall in love?
at first 
she didn’t answer
she just...

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Various Heresies 11



The beauty of the flower fades,
its petals wither to charades...
—Michael R. Burch



the U-turn poem
by michael r. burch

Life so defaulty,
Life so unfair,
why do wee prize U,
what do U care?

LORD who lets unborns
drown in a...

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——-Whispers———-
——-My angel, my love, held in this dangled glove——


Concupisscent, 
he deals in facts, got him stuck in my brain
Attacked and dressed to kill, 
commanding campaign
Hot blooded never ceased, 
leaves me within emotional chains 
has me...

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A poem for my Orion 
Who cowers in the sky
For many years, his faithful hunting dog 
Was always by his side. 

“Orion you are iniquitous, 
You do not shine so bright.” 
The dog's thoughts were...

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Too seldom tolerated,
much less explicitly noticed
by Christian theologians,

This historical interplay
at work and play
in Jesus of Nazareth's
recent post-colonization day,

When Jewish Rabbi Elders
were squished inside
Roman WhiteMale Dominant
empire-building denial
of their own win/lose subjugation
defying Judaic empowering culture

Rather recently overwhelmed
by...

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Various Heresies 10



God to Man, Contra Bataan
by Michael R. Burch

Earth, what-d’ya make of global warming?
Perth is endangered, the high seas storming.
Now all my creatures, from maggot to man
Know how it felt on the march to...

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~ for Mom ~


it seems …

like yesterday
and it seems like forever …
I can see them clearly
I can feel the soft wrinkles of skin
her little hands -
clutching the round disc
skin as thin as tissue paper
veins winding...

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My post-mortem may bear the stroke of your hand, in your lap,
On your knees with a single tear so priceless
That may fall on my cold cheek with power to revive, resurrect.
But not this time, not...

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SHE DRIVES ME UP THE WALL

She drives me up the wall like a slave-driver
O yes, she does ! but even though she may wield 
the rod in her hand ever so threateningly at me 
At...

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~ for Mom ~

it seems …

like yesterday
and it seems like forever …
I can see them clearly
I can feel the soft wrinkles of skin
her little hands -
clutching the round disc
skin as thin as tissue paper
veins winding...

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(Continued from Part Two - 1)

Nothing of the foisoning ageold homegrownwine
       strained through Ol’ Kayyam’s ever draining ruba’iyat bowl
    keeps vigil in their scelerosed veins ...

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When nighttime comes                                ...

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Early days as a flaneur;
I recall the couple 
On the Metro
When I was still innocent 
Of its labyrinthine complexities;
Slim pretty white girl,
Clad head to toe 
In new blue denim, 
Wistfully smiling
While her muscular black beau...

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Siempre el rostro de lo bestial

Always the face of the bestial 
a creature in fabric
of no more than instinctual
an instinct driven by predators

Knee-jerk reflexes for survival
and so we are this
the painted animal

All morality by some...

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Girl in my neighbourhood
Remind me of our childhood
She said,
We will grow together
I told my mother
You and i go to the same school
In the rain, summer or cool
Playing at the sand
Walking hand in hand
She say loving...

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just when she proudly posed as a puffing magic dragonette 

the bubble burst and a shiny sword punctured vulnerable skin

pierced the façade and made her reveal true person and posture

	I can’t hold this together without...

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The sprout of momentary illusion, 
the voyage of a derelict dream in place of a lie,
the lure of April, the deceit of May concertized in December, 
in wintry snow, mocked, 
miscarriages of a well worn...

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Don’t You Want More? I Do!

Do you think you deserve a bit more than you get
As you wait for a call from your good friends, and yet
You don't pick up the phone, give a 'hoot'...

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Are you there Benjamin Franklin?
Yes, I am, 
I live in the benevolent intentions of the Constitution   

When a malevolent leader appears who spouts untruths 
and offends the sacredness of the Constitution 
making you...

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We are on the crux, 
The cusp of kingdom come, 
In which our own becomes undone, 
Our lands, our bodies, 
Shall be seized by the folly of a smoking gun. 

Proof of tyranny has evaded...

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I know this sounds like theater
of the absurd,
but I wonder if healthy role play
might be left-brain's work ethic
inviting right-brain's first and last impassioned word.

We might pretend our LeftWing
loves to play
irresponsibly back and forth repositioning
while RightWing
is...

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