Long Peels Poems

Poems about Poems (I)



What the Poet Sees
by Michael R. Burch

What the poet sees,
he sees as a swimmer
~~~underwater~~~
watching the shoreline blur
sees through his breath’s weightless bubbles...
Both worlds grow obscure.



Muse/Goddess
by Michael R. Burch

“What will you conceive in...

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Poems about Butterflies and Bees



Flight
by Michael R. Burch

It is the nature of loveliness to vanish
as butterfly wings, batting against nothingness
seek transcendence...



Album
by Michael R. Burch

I caress them—trapped in brittle cellophane—
and I see how young they were,...

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The Making of a Poet
by Michael R. Burch

While I don’t consider “Poetry” to be my best poem—I wrote the first version in my teens—it’s a poem that holds special meaning for me; I call it...

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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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Observance
by Michael R. Burch

Here the hills are old and rolling
carefully in their old age;
on the horizon youthful mountains
bathe themselves in windblown fountains...

By dying leaves and falling raindrops,
I have traced time's starts and stops,
and I have...

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[First posted in 3 parts. Intended novel: time never allowed]

Prologue
This,  Sir, is the prologue from before our tale begins
About the day our father did succumb to mortal sins
And left behind a man who would...

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You're so far away from me and I suck trying to go slow when I know
I wanna snatch you up, bail you out, and take us to our new home
It's hard when I'm alone in...

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As you peel back one layer you will a bit more of me
Each layer defines parts that the naked eye may not see
The outer layer is tough resistant and seems weather proof
Just one more layer...

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"Chaos Theory"



The Message is sent on a breeze
Fire eats the wounds of a Mother

Her skin blisters
cracks and peels 

Her children inhale a different pollen
Drones bark messengers like Bowie's Diamond Dogs

Tables now turn
machines are giving orders...

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The drunk gods of vengeance mischievously donate their magic
filthy rags of wickedness, dropping down to curse humanity
darkness rules, day is banned for light to stay poisoned.
The ground peels from the earth to dissipate into the...

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growing up too soon

	you said: is there anything more excruciating than lagging behind
						being passed by
	a hasbeen
				still knocking on portals
twitching toes twirling thumbs
         in fidgety drawn-curtained waiting rooms

and...

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I used to eat orange peels in your Chevy car…
Let me be…my luck is long gone…
You hurt my heart…and torn it to shreds…

S H R E D S . . . . 

You left me...

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Psalm of the Heretics Saved

Oh, God!
You’ve taken my hands;
the blood spills onto the heathen soil of my birth!
The jaguar cannot help me.
The mighty pyramid rising past the trees
is a pride you’ve turned to shame.
You sent...

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snuggled up to the gentle fire
under the moon and stars 
he rests his head
and nestles into
a long lingering
swig of whiskey 
that drifts his mind
on the night breeze
like the billowy puff
slowly eclipsing
the moon 
a sparkling stream...

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‘so glad ya made it out alright,’ she says.
‘i’m feelin’ a whole lot better knowin’ that the crops’re bein’ taken care-uh.”
you nod, smile politely
and step out of your car straight into drying mud.
‘i just don’t...

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Always cold in the morning, this kitchen is warmed now
With a roaring fire and my wife working beside me making just desserts
We stand here two hours this afternoon doing one of our projects
Cooking soup and...

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Can I lend my brains for a day, year and minute only?
My heart only left to see if poetry will exist

Yet poetry is taunting me, trying to reconcile with my past
My step father’s abusive days,
Days...

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Last night I had the most amazing dream. I found true love with a man who had no name. He was casually dressed in jeans and a T and smelled incredible. 
We were at a...

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Pray,
If you should tell
All that you have bottled up
Who will you tell?
Who will believe you?
Stories of swollen head, slit lips
Blood, brimstone and bonfires 
Laboriously ignited to silence
Rats, rabbits, dogs, roaches and mosquitoes 
Stories of brazen...

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As the apologetic sun
melts in hibiscus vase
of pastel-peach 
horizons and peels off
those pristine pigments 
of egoistic elegance, 
sailing upon 
aquamarine foam
of vanilla waves ~
where dignity
unveils a clemency
within catharsis, 
I dare to surrender
towards the 
pink-teal blends...

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Dear ......,

Its over, it's finished, I mean it - we're through!
I thought it was me but now know it was you.
I'm done with your lies, your greed, my fixation
insatiable urge that precedes degradation.

It's cost me...

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Loving life hid beneath rim of cool ceramic bowl
Tree frog claimed proud place, toilet's homely hole
Enamoured by his simple palace making stance
I bend to peer at his green grip toe stick, entranced

My ordinary admonished by...

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She Goes Back
By Lillian J. Jeffrey


Whispers flow like a river
she will be sold
sold or rented like a cash crop

Born on a Maryland plantation
her mother works the big house
Harriet runs barefoot in the woods
side by side...

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I wrote the Invisible man poems many years ago. These poems, and I have not submitted them all, was for a little girl who died in a road accident. They are a tribute to her...

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She Goes Back
By Lillian J. Jeffrey


Whispers flow like a river
she will be sold
sold or rented like a cash crop

Born on a Maryland plantation
her mother works the big house
Harriet runs barefoot in the woods
side by side...

Read More