Long Obviously Poems

Dad hit me only once, an upper cut to the solar plexus. It nearly lifted me off my feet. I was 17 then and already fairly tall, 6’1.” He was 48 and of medium height,...

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I smell like pencils in September.
After they’ve been brought to that…to the machine hanging on the closet wall where our coats, our boots, our bags, and nonsense lived.

You stared me in the eyes, since the...

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Impossible mission to captcha infinitesimal moment

alternately titled: tick tock runneth amuck
seconds elapse imperceptibly 
leaving me dumbstruck,
how quickly fleeting tempus fugit; 
ofttimes imagined as time thief.

Hence following vignette: quiet as a mouse lurks the time thief...

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Watching wan moonlight
illuminate tree limbs,
my heart also brims,
overflowing with autumn.
—Ono no Komachi, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

As I slept in isolation
my desired beloved appeared to me; 
therefore, dreams have become my reality
and consolation. 
—Ono...

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As I slept in isolation
my desired beloved appeared to me; 
therefore, dreams have become my reality
and consolation. 
—Ono no Komachi, translation by Michael R. Burch

Submit to you—is that what you advise? 
The way the ripples...

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Come Down
by Michael R. Burch

for Harold Bloom

Come down, O, come down
from your high mountain tower.
How coldly the wind blows,
how late this chill hour ...

and I cannot wait
for a meteor shower
to show you the time
must be...

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Disability, Illness and Fundamentalism

My brother died of Cystic Fibrosis, 
When I was twelve and he fourteen, 
It took away his ambitions, 
To study at Oxford - the pipe organ’s steam. 

I understand being born with...

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Date:   May  2051

 Raining morning dawning. Everything is
Best and rest in all Hakim Households.
Hours passed and in Damian's dome
Dolly rose and gently kissed Damian.
"Rise my husband. Strong man I remember 
You." She...

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Desharah  woke early morning 8 am.
She wanted to check out her new
House. But she waited for Sedanah 
To come out of her dreams. 
"WAKE UP SEDA."  They roomed
Together. That's what her mother 
Wanted....

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As to the this and the that and the how and the why,
    I pass no judgement on the tale at hand.
And leave it to scribes to much later decide
  ...

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"The Beetlejuice Past Your Eyes"


“Well, where would you suggest I commence? Should we begin with the concept of pasteurize?”

This said to the earnest listener, who views the protagonist with a bon vivant confused expression. To...

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~ Jesus  Is  Great ~
(Linked)



JESUS  IS  GREAT
J
Great is His name
E
Name so  Holy
S
Holy  is  He
U
He, Son of  God
S
God, our  Father
I
Father  Almighty
S
Almighty  and  true
G
True and...

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I met a proper woman in a proper pub on a Monday in Peoria. It was noon, time for lunch, and we were sitting stool to stool over very large burgers at a long mahogany...

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"How ya' doin''" the youngster asked...a girl I'd never seen..."you're lookin' pretty good for a guy your age."
"I'm on the 'final chapter'," I surprised her, "of my life"...and not that long before my final page!"

She...

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Rescue-Zoo.com



I was sitting in their studio with a gal from cable news, taking part in my first and only ever interview,
Fielding friendly questions that pertained to how and why I’d wound up, at the age...

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Brian’s Poet of Note – ‘Herman Hesse’ Week 2

This week I thought I would discuss translating poetry from another language. I just finished retranslating from German this poem ‘Stufen’ from Hesse’s famous novel ‘The Glass...

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YOU ARRIVED ON CUE I SUPPOSE RIGHT AFTER THE CHRISTMAS DAY ARSONS MURDERS PROCLAIMING MY LIFE WAS IN GRAVE DANGER WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ARSON MURDER 8 ELDERLY PERSONS PARISHES PROCLAIMED MY EX HUSBAND...

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When still young,                                ...

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Here's the deal, friends...
   This is, as indicated, the THIRD 1/3 of this very lengthy poem. Due to Poetry Soup's file-size limitations, this piece had to be posted in 3 parts! 
 ...

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Origin of Christianity

(If you don't like religious writes don't read on)

It may surprise some that Jesus was born a Jew, his parents Joseph and Mary were Jewish, both from the tribe of Judah, in the...

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They were joined by Ceridfen, Lumi, Gwaldon and several others a bit later in
the day for a late mid-day meal.  Seileach, the efficient elf that he was, had already forwarded a letter containing specific...

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NOTE: This is the final THIRD of a funny 3-part poem. You'll find the 1st and 2nd parts on my homepage, of course. I hope you'll take the time to read the whole thing, it's...

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This is, as indicated, the 2nd HALF of this fairly lengthy poem. Due to Poetry Soup's file-size limitations, this piece had to be posted in 2 parts. 
   The 1st HALF can be...

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It's hard to think in Either-Or Deductive,
while speaking and acting in Both-And Inductive.

For example,
If my Brother is kind and loving
(and he usually is),
and really not all that judgmental and condemning
with his wife and kids especially...

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Half a dozen girls, at least, were on my list of ‘maybes’, as I was on the prowl to find a date for junior prom,
When I was coaxed to think about a girl who lived...

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