Long Orts Poems

Poems about Poems (II)

Kin
by Michael R. Burch

for Richard Moore

1.
Shrill gulls,
how like my thoughts
you, struggling, rise
to distant bliss?
the weightless blue of skies
that are not blue
in any atmosphere,
but closest here...

2.
You seek an air
so clear,
so rarified
the effort leaves...

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Poems about Flight, Flying, and Birds



Flying
by Michael R. Burch

I shall rise
and try the bloody wings of thought
ten thousand times
before I fly...

and then I'll sleep
and waste ten thousand nights
before I dream;

but when at last...
I soar the...

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State of the Art (II)

These are my "ars poetica" poems about the art and craft of writing poetry. 



What the Poet Sees
by Michael R. Burch

What the poet sees,
he sees as a swimmer 
~~~~underwater~~~~
watching the shoreline...

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Poems about Poets I


The Wonder Boys
by Michael R. Burch

for Leslie Mellichamp

The stars were always there, too-bright cliches:
scintillant truths the jaded world outgrew
as baffled poets winged keyed kites—amazed,
in dream of shocks that suddenly came true ...

but...

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Written: August 09, 2023,                     Why Are We Here Poetry Contest
     ...

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I WISH I WEREN’T AN ANT
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS



I wish I weren’t an ant, my survival rate is scant
Done in by a pesticide, or a shoe, as I gallivant
A solitary figure, when I roam, I am...

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Crumpled Thoughts 

They wait – in hues of vibrating silence -
Like leftover orts of rumpled paper wimples 
On creased clandestine journal pages –
Bent scraps of wrinkled inspiration
Smudged moments held in their one moment of time
Musings...

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When the unforeseen mistrel swipes the land,

tiny warriors trudge against the force.

“Back down! Retreat!”, the general commands.

The musketeers recoil back on course.


Then the torrent readily disembarks,

the entire army rolls up horse and foot.

A few lucky...

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Inside an old library of things uncountable
clippings, extracts, jottings, and snippets.

‘things’ 
nothing can be
excluded

yes the air is musty, thickly clothed,
muffled and club fingered, 
incidentals are listed 
on the cuff of the half-remembered. 

Mind dust wafts...

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SURVEILLIOCENTRICHOSPIDROME


Sanctuary of my deepest thoughts
(Fill me with you r everence sustain)

My Inner Sanctum for peace of mind
(Where the heart meets with my soul and brain)

Ninth circle of dwell ing in placement
(Make sense of existence in...

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Kin
by Michael R. Burch

for Richard Moore

1.
Shrill gulls,
how like my thoughts
you, struggling, rise
to distant bliss—
the weightless blue of skies
that are not blue
in any atmosphere,
but closest here ...

2.
You seek an air
so clear,
so rarified
the effort leaves you famished;
earthly...

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Memories hunker behind
a door marked “Blessed Oblivion”.
The key is under the mat.
To choose one, open and peek 
inside would be
a foolish flagellation.

Secrets simmer in cannibal pots,
lids held down by tenuous fingers.
Some truths deserve to be...

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A descension of value bows night scenes,
the purple canopy edges its hoist,
spirits cool Platte River to lose its sheen,
Nebraskans wake to clarion fields voiced.
A loyal guest calls, it's the Sandhill Cranes,
dancing lessons, fields fattening corn...

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Blessed art thou that believes, kneel before Thee
  Morn and night our eynes unfolded on Thee
Lest we stagger or plop by the wile trap
  To Thee we knock, drop the badger unwrapped

Creeds from...

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How many Mary Celestes sail
On the uncharted oceans of your mind?
How many lost souls vainly flail
To clamber on board, how many left behind?
 
So many unvisited ports
Beckon, tantalize and tease.
Does one survive on life’s orts
And...

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